Ice Angel
by vulturemonem
Summary: Bella Swan is the Fork High bad girl. She goes to parties, plays round with boys, and rules the school, and dates the guy that rides a motorbike. When Edward Cullen, the new guy, turns up, she hates the way she's so affected by his presence alone, and does everything in her power to fight whatever is going on. But it's impossible to fight love.
1. Chapter 1-Isabella Swan: Bad Girl

I sighed wistfully as I finished reading yet another romance book and rolled over onto my back. I snapped the book shut, not wanting to read of the beautifully dramatic, yet perfectly blissful happily-ever-afters of girls not unlike myself again. It was what I'd always wanted - to be loved an adored by my perfect guy. For everything to be classic. It didn't have to be perfect all the way through. Let's be realistic, it never would be.

I loved romance. I'd never understood why, but I did. Perhaps it was because I knew I'd never have that, so I needed to fantasise about it. Maybe it was because I could imagine myself as the leading female. Whatever the reason, I couldn't get enough of romance. My dad, Charlie Swan, the chief of Forks police, had great fun teasing me about it, as did Alice, my black-haired, pixie-like, fashionista sister.

Who also hated me.

She didn't hate me, as in, was disgraced to be called my sister, but she never spent any time with me, and she really disapproved of my life, and my social status at school. We were twins, had both just started our junior year in Forks High school. As was my boyfriend, Jacob Black. Technically, he lived up in La Push, but he had been going to school in Forks forever, as had his father, Billy.

Jacob wasn't exactly my perfect boyfriend. He was the school bad-boy, and a complete jerk. I liked being in a relationship with him though. Why? Because I liked to mess around with boys. I liked to wrap a ton of them round my little finger, and play with them until they were shaking in anticipation. Then I liked to throw them away. Jacob let me do this. He didn't get pissed if I flirted with other guys, and he didn't really give a shit if I kissed them either. Not that I would. Sure, I liked to flirt and get their hopes up, but I wasn't a complete cheating bitch.

By play with them, I don't mean sexually. In fact, despite being classified as the schools most popular girl, and complete bad-girl, I was still a virgin. Jacob had been trying to rectify this for several months, but I wasn't into that kind of thing. I wanted to lose my virginity to the guy of my dreams. If I never found him, then so be it.

And I probably wouldn't find him, unless I seriously cleaned up my act. See, I wasn't always who I am today. I wasn't always friends with the cheerleaders and bitches, Tanya, Victoria, Jane, Lauren, Jessica, once upon a time I'd hated their guts. All through middle school, I'd hung around with Alice, Ben Cheney and Angela Webber, who was my best friend. I'd also been good friends with Rosalie Hale and her boyfriend Emmett McCarty, both of whom were in the year above me. Oh, and Rose's brother, Jasper, who Alice had begun dating a year or so ago.

But upon becoming a freshman, I'd started to change. For one, I started hanging around with Jacob Black. He'd dragged me along to a party one night, and I'd become drunk off my stinking ass. He'd asked me on a date, and for me to be his girl in one go. Being in the state I was, I said yes, before snogging him.

Since then, we'd been a couple. I didn't really feel anything for Jacob, which was why I refused to have sex with him. Since that night, I'd gradually become the school bad-girl. Despite having the reputation of an ice-cold bitch that played with guys more than anything else, I didn't really like all the picking on people stuff. It pissed me off actually. I tried my best to avoid getting involved in any of it, and I'm proud to say I succeed.

So I can't really have my dream guy. Because my dream guy would never, ever fall for a girl like me. Not ever. I'd be the kind of girl he despised, and thought nothing of. He'd fall for the real me. The kind, completely uncoordinated, unintentionally funny, carefree Bella Swan.

Me.

But I didn't know how to even begin changing back to myself, and I didn't really want to. Though it wasn't me, I was comfortable being who everyone thought I was. It meant I avoided the wrath of Tanya and Victoria, who thought themselves my best friends, and were constantly in each others throats to be recognised and liked more in my eyes, and it meant I kept the two from strutting around as Queen Bee. That was me. Though I liked to think I walked around, not strutted.

Rose would disagree.

"Bella!" Alice hollered from downstairs, "Mom just called!"

Fuck. My mother, Renee whatever-the-fuck-her-last-name-is-now had divorced my dad when we were young. She'd up and left, leaving Alice and I, who were just six at the time, in Charlie's care. She'd married five times since, and divorced every one of them. Apparently she was marrying some guy called Phil Dywer, who was a baseball player. Minor league. She more or less hated my guts, uh huh, her own daughter. The feeling was mutual. This relationship was not a result of my change. I had always hated my mother.

"I'm not talking to her!" I hollered back.

"For God's sake Bella! Talk to your mother!" Charlie shouted up.

"No," I said stubbornly, "She hates me and I hate her. End of."

I heard Alice and Charlie huff in exactly the same way, causing me to smile. They were very alike in some ways, but whereas Alice was bouncy and bubbly like Renee before she went nuts, Charlie had a harder time expressing his emotions, and was far quieter. I was much more like Charlie than Renee.

There was a knock at the front door, and Alice told me it was Jacob. I didn't really want to deal with my boyfriend, and I told her so. Unfortunately, she decided to let him in anyway. Charlie told us to keep the door open, even though I'd told him time and time again that I was not interested in having sex with Jacob. He just didn't get it though. Jacob pushed open my bedroom door with a grunt and flopped down on my bed next to me.

"Hey babe," he said, grinning.

"Hey Jake."

I rolled my eyes as he leant in and kissed me, hard. It was the kind if kiss that my romance books describe as soul-searing, but I felt nothing. Well, nothing except wet lips and a rough tongue that liked to invade my mouth, even when it wasn't wanted, and a load of teeth that scraped at my lips far too often for my liking. I didn't like kissing Jacob much. It wasn't natural. The only time I liked kissing Jacob was when I was completely and utterly stinking drunk, and then I seemed to enjoy snogging him senseless, until it was more like I was eating his fucking face.

As I said, only when I'm drunk.

"What're you doing tomorrow night?" Jacob asked, flipping back his long black hair from his tanned face.

"Nothing," I replied shortly.

"Wanna come over and watch a movie?" he asked.

My jaw fell open.

"When have I ever been interested in cuddling on the couch and making out while pretending to watch a movie?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, because that was really what he was asking me.

"Never, but a guy can hope. You're sexy babe," he said, winking.

A little disgusted, I pushed him away as he leant in again. What the fuck was it with Jacob at the moment? He'd been dropping hints about taking the next step, so to speak, for a few months, but he'd never asked in such an obvious way. Jacob most definitely was not my dream guy. No way was he taking that away from me.

***

"Bella!" the pixie called at six o'clock the next morning, shaking me roughly. I rolled over and groaned loudly. This was our morning routine. Alice would leap into my room, bang on six, and wake me up. She'd then try and play Barbie Bella, and I'd refuse. I'd go and make breakfast, and Charlie would grunt and grab his gun, leaving. Then I'd get into my wonderful, old, red Chevy, and Alice would leap into her Porsche. She'd pick up Jasper, and I'd get to school and hang around with Tanya and Victoria.

That was, of course, what would happen that morning too.

"Five more minutes Alice. Go the fuck away," I muttered.

"I will get the real you back of I die doing it," she vowed.

"Even the real me would tell you to get the mother-fucking shit outta my bloody bedroom before I wring your fucking neck for waking me up at fucking six. Get the fuck out," I grumbled, shoving my sister's leg in emphasis.

"Language Bella!" Charlie hollered from downstairs, before slamming the door.

About ten minutes later, I dragged myself out of bed and showered. It seemed that I'd scared my sister away, as she wasn't waiting to play Barbie Bella. It wasn't that I didn't wear make-up and wear clothes she approved of - I did. How else could I play with the guys of Forks High? - but I liked to get myself ready, and make myself look sexy.

Because there was nothing the shallow, pathetic boys at Forks High liked more than a hot girl to leave them drooling. Who was I to argue? I just fulfilled their needs, to and extent. I left the actual stuff the Lauren Mallory, the school slut. She fancied herself way too much. She had straw-like, dyed blond hair, a badly-applied fake-tan (I avoided the stuff altogether) and usually smudged lipstick. Oh, and she left far too little to the imagination. I saw far too much of her every day she sat at the populars' table.

Siting down in front of my mirror, I grabbed a load of eyeshadow, and spruced up my eyes, along with some black eyeliner and mascara. I didn't bother with foundation or blusher. I had quite a rosy completion anyway, and foundation makes you look like a fake bitch. Like the cheerleaders I hung out with. Throwing on some deep red lipstick, I stood up and opened my wardrobe. I pulled on a pair of slim-fit jeans and a shirt that hugged my body, which had drastically changed in the last couple of years. From a slightly chubby, straight, flat-chested girl, I'd gradually become slimmer, and had filled out my hips and chest. Unlike those I hung around with, I hadn't had my breasts made larger by some cheap, skunk-like lady in some dodgy street in Seattle.

I was just about to leave my bedroom, when I realised that I hadn't even brushed my hair. Swearing loudly as Charlie had left for work already, I stooped to pick up my hairbrush and yanked through the knots. Not bothered with anything fancy, I pulled back into a neat, high ponytail, and rushed downstairs.

I pulled the bread from the cupboard and threw it into the toaster, flicking the switch on the side. I pulled the margarine and jam from the fridge and yanked out the toast, burning myself in the process. I was late, so I was rushing. If anyone had a problem with that, then fuck. They can go to hell.

Scoffing down my breakfast, I heard Alice come in. She too seemed to be in a rush as she tried to locate something, throwing things everywhere in the process. Now, I may go mad rushing once in a while, but I was far more logical than my sister, and far, far calmer. Not just when under stress. Alice was something else.

"Alice," I said, laying a hand on her arm, halting her frantic searching, "What're you looking for?"

"Like you give a damn," she hissed, "You hang around with the bitches at school, so why don't you fill the table and behave the same at home."

"I've told you time and time again that I don't give a fuck what you want me to do. What are you looking for?"

"My bloody phone! Is that a problem?" she shouted, getting angry.

"Not at all. It's in your purple handbag by the way."

Alice squeaked and threw her arms around me, dashing upstairs. Smiling a little at my crazed sister, I threw my plate in the dishwasher, wincing at the noise it made, and picked up my brown bag, which hung just inside the front door. I shouted at Alice, telling her I was going, and slammed the door behind me. The window at the top rattled as it always did, and I rolled my eyes. Our small little house was falling into disrepair.

I opened the door of my red Chevy and slid in, not feeling the cool winds that swirled around me. It was always cold in Forks, and I'd lived her all my life. Now if somebody came here from, say, Arizona... They'd be totally and utterly fucked. They'd need jumpers a d coats and coats and jumpers.

Shaking my head, I keyed the engine and hit the gas pedal. Being the daughter of the Chief of Police, I tended to stick to the speed limit. Of course, there were emergencies at times, that required even I too speed. It was one of those mornings.

My phone rung, and I swore softly. I didn't answer my phone in the car either, not usually. But nobody would call me five minutes before I usually got to school unless it was important, so, not taking my eyes off the road for a moment, I dug around in my bag until I located my cell. I hit the answer button, and put it on speaker.

"Bella?" came Tanya's voice.

"Morning Tanya. What's up?" I asked, putting on my cooly nonchalant voice. It was the one that had won me Forks High school. Fuck, I used it all the time, and I loved it.

"I'm here too Bella," came Victoria's snarky voice. I had to admit, out of the two, I liked Tanya far more than Victoria. Both were totally pathetic, of course, but Victoria was the kind of girl I could imagine fucking her boyfriend and another guy she'd picked up off the streets at the same time, before snogging yet another, and proclaiming her love for all three. Tanya was far more your average, high-school bitch.

"Whatever. Why are you calling me?" I asked.

"Bella hit that gas pedal hard. You know Dr. Cullen and his wife?" Tanya asked.

"Sweetie, I was patched up by him more times than I can count as a kid. I know Carlisle and Esme by name."

"Of course, but you're no longer so clumsy," Victoria complimented, her voice slick. Dangerously slick.

"Cut to the chase you two," I ordered.

"Well apparently Dr. Cullen's brother died not long ago, and he had a son called-"

"Edward. I know, I've heard about him," I said, becoming impatient. Carlisle positively gushed about his nephew, but from what I understood he and his brother had fallen out, and they hadn't spoken in several years. The only photo Carlisle had of Edward was as a baby. I had to admit, he was a pretty baby. Little tufts of auburn hair and bright blue eyes, similar to Carlisle's.

"Oh right. Have you met him?" Tanya asked excitedly.

"No. For the sake of my personal sanity will you get to it?" I practically begged, my façade slipping ever so slightly. They didn't notice, of course.

"Well Edward was left to Dr. Cullen and his wife, and he's coming to Forks High."

"And?"

"Hello Bella. He's related to Dr. Hot. I'm staring at him now, and he is fuck-hot," came the voice of Jessica. Jessica was the only decent girl in the entire group, but she had the most ridiculous crush on Mike Newton. It was so much fun playing with him...

"Uh huh," I said, parking in one clean movement. I was a good driver. "You're telling me this why?"

"Did you not hear Stanley?" Victoria asked. The bitch thought herself so much better than everyone else, but in fact she was truly pathetic.

"I heard her perfectly," I snapped, my voice cold. I could see Tanya's sneer from my place in my truck.

"He's so much hotter than anyone else here. Trust me, you'll want to snag him," Tanya said.

I hung up just as I climbed out of my truck, and I made my way over to the group with a sigh. Lauren was, as usual, wearing the most revealing clothing. I was actually slightly nauseous looking at it. I could see two thirds of her breasts, and her skirt barely covered her butt. If she leant over, I'd be able to see her panties. She was almost certainly wearing a thong.

"Ladies," I said, coming over with a smirk, "It may surprise you to hear this, particularly coming from me, but I don't date people because of how hot they are. And it may have escaped your notice, but I have a boyfriend."

"I'll snag him then," Tanya said, shrugging.

"There will be no snagging of anyone," I said, smirk still in place, "I believe that boys have their own mind, howeve small. If you wish to ask him out, go ahead."

In all honesty, even if he was the nephew of two people I'd know since I was a baby, and loved like a second set of parents - hell Esme was more of a mother to me than Renee ever had been - I didn't give a damn. I didn't car wif he was hot either. Well, I did. But I highly doubted he was as good-looking as the girls had made him out to be. Their standards were rather low. And if he really was fuck-hot, then I doubted he was anyone I'd like as a person. Hotness and arrogance seemed to go hand-in-hand. Then again, Mike though he was the shit, and he most certainly wasn't hot. Not even slightly.

I pushed Edward Cullen from my mind, and turned back to my girls. Lauren was throwing some insults at Angela, who stood by her car looking angry and upset. Now, I may be the Queen Bee of Forks High, but I didn't like it when people picked on my ex-best-friend. I still cared for Angela, even if she didn't realise it.

"Lauren! Leave her alone. What did she do to you?"

Lauren actually had the nerve to smirk at me. Had she forgotten who I was? Had she forgotten that I could make her stinking life a misery with a snap of my fingers? Had she forgotten that my word was rule? By God, if she so much as opened her stinking, slutty mouth, then so help me...

"Oh yeah. I forgot about your soft spot for Webber," she sneered.

"Bitch," I said, getting right in her face, "Have you forgotten that I am Queen Bee? For the sake of fuck I hope I don't catch you doing that again. If I do, I will ruin you," I hissed.

Lauren had the decency to look bashful, and she even looked scared. Good. The bitch couldn't just go round insulting anyone she liked for the hell of it! Who did she think she was? My father was the law in the town, and I was the law in the school. Fitting huh? It also meant that if you upset me, not only would I make you wish you were dead at school, but my father would end up checking you criminal records, and you'd have yourself shown up about something or other.

Unless, of course, you were a complete goody-goody. Angela, though great fun and a great friend, had never put a toe out of line as far as the law was concerned. But she wasn't all good. She did get a detention for hitting Mike once. To be fair, he was trying to grope my ass.

As usual when I used my social status to defend anyone I had once cared for a lot, Angela shot me a small smile and turned away, heading towards my sister, who had just parked next Ben. From what I'd heard, Angela and Ben had started dating over the summer, but I'd yet to hear this from anyone who was actually a reliable source of information. I'd ask Alice, I thought.

"Bella? Did you listen to a word I just said?" Tanya asked, smiling.

"Sorry, no. What?"

Jessica rolled her eyes.

"You just missed Edward. He just went inside," Jessica explained.

"Right. Yeah. I need to 'ogle his ass' do I? Unlike Miss over there," I said, nodding to Lauren, "I'm not a cheating, lying slut."

The girls around me giggled, all except for Lauren of course, who looked like I'd slapped her. I hadn't forgiven her for that comment about Angela yet, so I'd decided to have a little fun messing with her. It was working, it seemed, as she went bright red in anger. Of course, she did have a few brain cells. Sensibly, she didn't say anything.

"Even so Bella..." Victoria said, trailing off.

"Hello? Extreme hotness," Jane said, voicing her opinions for the first time that day.

"Anyway Bella," Tanya cut in, rolling her eyes, "Swan is putting on some dance in about three weeks. Are you coming?"

"You mean my sister? I know. And for the billionth time, I don't dance. Of you're all going though, I may tag along. And Victoria? Fi we go, do not, under any circumstances, spike the punch," I said, bringing out my icy glare.

The one party I went to over the summer, Victoria had spiked the punch. Charlie had totally busted the party, and was furious that I'd been there. I'd been grounded, needless to say. Though it was no longer a new development, he still had trouble grasping that his good-girl Bella had turned bad. Before starting Forks High, I'd never even had a detention. For the most part, I avoided them now, but I'd been to a dozen a month in my freshman year. I was less than pleased with Victoria, and she knew it. She'd totally fucked up in her 'become Bella's best buddy' plan.

"I won't," she murmured, looking across the parking lot. I turned round and saw Jacob riding in on his black motorbike. I was surprised he'd come to school before the bell had rung. He much preferred to annoy the fuck out of the teachers by strutting in late, behaving like a cocky prick. Then again, he was a cocky prick.

He pulled off his helmet and shook his head like a dog would. His eyed raked through the hoards of people in the parking lot, before resting on my little gang. The other time I liked to snog Jacob was in public. It wasn't really that I enjoyed kissing him, but the kiss was always more exciting in public, and it was always interesting to see people's reactions. I enjoyed marking my territory, and it seemed to make people realise who ruled this stinking place.

"Hey babe," he said with a grin.

"Hey hotness," I said with a cocky smirk.

Jacob's grin changed into a smirk, and he wrapped his large hands around my hips, slamming me against his large, hard body as he fixed his lips to mine. I tangled my hands in his long hair and moved my lips insistently against his. His tongue infiltrated my mouth, and our teeth nipped at each others' lips. As usual, I broke the kiss before it got out of hand. After all, Jacob wanted me in bed, so I doubted he'd have a problem with using Tanya's car.

I was mildly surprised that Jacob had actually kissed me like that. Usually, he kissed me while slightly hidden by a car, but that morning it'd been in plain view, for everyone to see. It was certainly a bit of a new thing for my not-that-hot-or-loyal boyfriend. Nevertheless, I doubted I'd make a habit of it. Just the faces of my sister and co. had me regretting what I'd just done.

Bella! I chastised myself. You're a new person. You don't give a fuck about what they think. You rule the school, and it's up to you what you do with your boyfriend. Hell, it wouldn't be any of their business if I let Jacob take me on the hood of Tanya's car! Not that I'd even dream of losing my v-card to Jacob Black, in the school parking lot.

The bell rang, and I was snapped from my trance. Jacob threw a goodbye over his shoulder, and I walked in with the girls. Tanya, Victoria and Jessica were talking about the dance, and Lauren was bitching about me to Jane. Jane looked rather bored, and not impressed by Lauren's speech, so I decided to save her.

"Lauren, honestly, shut up. Jane doesn't give a fuck what you think about me, and neither do I," I said, bringing out Isabella Ice again. I'd perfected it.

"Oh dearest Bella, don't hate me 'cos I'm beautiful, hate me 'cos your boyfriend think so too," Lauren said, winking.

Calmly, I stopped, checked my reflection briefly in the window, before deeming myself ready to state my fucking point. I rounded on Lauren, and was extremely pleased to see that I stood a few inches taller than her. I wasn't tall, per say, but I certainly wasn't short. I was just over five foot seven, and my chestnut-brown hair fell forwards onto my neck as I leant down, getting right in her face. Again.

"Been stalking me Lauren? I posted that on my cousin's message board last week. You know. Irina?"

A flash of recognition swept across Lauren's face, and I could tell that she was trembling in her slutty heels. Honestly. Bright red stilettos? Did the girl want to be raped walking down the street? Even Victoria wasn't that ridiculous.

"I-I have no idea what you're on about," she stuttered, her voice faltering.

"Oh yes you do. Now Lauren, I will tell you one more time. Stop with the bitchiness, and I will leave you alone. Keep on with the bitchiness, and you will wish you were dead by the time I've snapped my fingers," I said, my voice clear, calm, cold, and fucking terrifying, if I may say so myself. I clicked my fingers once, right in her face, for emphasis. The entire corridor had gone silent. I spun round and glared at the onlookers, causing a nervous stutter, before they went back to whatever they'd been doing before. Losers.

"Hey Bella!" Mike's voice called from behind me.

I rolled my eyes at the girls around me, and then put on my seducing smile as I turned to look at him. Flirting time, I thought with a smug little smile. Internally, of course. The idiots at Forks High didn't seem to have realised that I just wasn't interested in dating them, and that I merely had a little fun with them for my own pleasure and satisfaction.

"Hey Mike," I said, tilting my head slightly and standing on one hip.

"Hm," he said quietly, huffing me. Prat.

"Something you wanted?" I asked, batting my eyelashes at him.

"I- uh, um, would you like to do something tomorrow evening? Like, you know, go on a date?" he asked, clearly flustered as he asked me out yet again. My tongue darted out to lick my lips, and Mike let out an audible groan.

"I have a boyfriend sweetie," I whispered in his ear, my breath fanning across his neck, "Get lost," I continued in the same, breathy tone.

I smirked at Mike and turned back to the girls, who were grinning at my display. We said our goodbyes, and I headed to my locker. I wove through the crowds, avoiding the boys. I wasn't really in a flirting mood, despite how much fun I'd had seducing Mike. By the time I reached my locker, I was sick and tired of hearing Edward Cullen's name. Do they not have anything else to talk about? Oh no, that's right, he's their shiny new toy.

The locker beside me had been unused for as long as I could remember, so you could imagine my surprise as I reached mine, and saw some guy with wavy bronze hair standing at it, putting stuff away and checking his timetable. His skin was lightly tanned, and he stood a little over six foot, I'd guess. He was taller than Jacob, but probably shorter than great big Emmett.

Deciding to ignore him, I strode over to my own locker, trying to to notice how good his butt looked in his jeans. Honestly! I didn't get worked up over boys! I turned my combination lock and swung my locker open, pulling out the crap I'd need for history and English. Our history teacher the the oldest, most boring man on the fucking planet, and he was really ruining a perfectly good subject.

Just as I was about to leave to my English classroom, there was a slight throat clearing behind me, and an 'excuse me?' uttered in a perfectly angelic, and rather velvety voice. I turned round to see the guy that now occupied the locker next to mine, and I was struck immediately by his looks.

Holy hotness...

Beautiful, deep, emerald green eyes. Wavy, silky locks of bronze hair. Perfect, slightly tanned skin. Soft, plush pink lips that were just begging to be kissed. And a tall, toned figure, that had me drooling.

I'd have guessed that this was Edward Cullen, except his eyes were green. The picture I'd seen of a little baby quite clearly showed that he had blue eyes. Was there some other new guy?

"I'm sorry, could you tell me where the calculus classroom is?" he asked softly.

"Um, yeah. Down there, turn left, third door on your right," I said, almost operating on auto-pilot, "Didn't Mrs. Cope give you a map?"

"No. Thank you-" he hesitated, not knowing my name.

"Bella. Bella Swan. And you are?" I asked, deciding to behave civilly for the moment. For whatever strange reason, I didn't have my normal urge to flirt with this guy.

"Edward Cullen," he mumbled, blushing, "Bye Bella."

He walked off, and I realised that for all his good looks, he was a seriously shy guy. And I made him kind of cute, added a rather irritating voice in my head. I realised that I was staring at his ass again, and I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Thankfully, nobody seemed to have noticed our exchange.

They were right. Edward Cullen was fuck-hot. But that didn't mean I wanted to date him. He was far too much of a good guy for the new me. But the old me? Perhaps, but the new me always won now. I wanted nothing to do with Edward, and it was going to stay that way.

But God was he hot...

***

**A/N**

**So? How was it? I realise that a lot of you will hate Bella, because she's the Tanya or Victoria of a lot of all-human twifics. Please bare with me though. I believe in HEA, as you know by now. My characters just have to work to get there. *snickers* Feedback much appreciated!**

**Lucy xX**


	2. Chapter 2-Welcome to Forks

Edward's POV

It was just like one of those modern takes on a fairy-tale. One moment, I was living my life as normal with my parents in Phoenix, the next, there was a knock on the front door, telling me my parents had died in a car crash. And then that I'll be shipped off to Forks, the rainiest town on planet earth, to live with my aunt and uncle, whom I'd met once as a baby. Perhaps they'd lock my up in a shoe-cupboard, as we're following the cliché theme. I hoped there wasn't an evil dark wizard after me too.

There I was, enjoying life, living in Phoenix, going to school, being nerdy little Edward Cullen, and then it's all over in a second. They hadn't even caught whoever it was that ruined my life.

And so it was that I found myself walking off of a plane in Seattle airport, trying to find two people I'd never met. I clutched a photograph in my left hand, which showed me Carlisle and Esme Cullen, together, twenty years ago. Why hadn't I ever seen my family? According to my mother, Elizabeth, my father and his brother had fallen out, not long after I was born. My father never spoke of them, but my mother had told me that they had just one picture of me, as a baby.

So they had no idea who I was either. How the hell was I meant to find them in an airport this size? Though I'd been told that Forks was in the middle of nowhere, with virtually no inhabitants, Seattle's airport was damn big, and I hadn't actually spoken to Carlisle or Esme about my arrival, so no arrangements had been made. I felt like a right idiot wandering around, glancing at a photo.

I spotted some guy with dark brown hair in a police uniform, with '_Forks Police_' and '_Chief Swan_' written in the front. I had to hold back a snort. I hadn't loved Phoenix, _really_, but everything was far more sophisticated there. The guy's uniform wasn't exactly up to the standard I was used to. But he seemed to work in Forks, and with a town that small, surely you knew everyone? It'd take all of two minutes to learn their names.

Nervously, being the shy geek I was, I cleared my throat as I approached the Chief. He glanced down at me.

"Excuse me? Do you know who Carlisle and Esme Cullen are?" I asked.

"Sure do kid. Go fishing with Carlisle every Sunday. You Edward?"

I was slightly shocked. What luck! I'd managed to find somebody that not only knew my aunt and uncle, but was friends with them, and knew them well enough to have spoken about me. Well that was a great stroke of luck. Amazing really, as luck never seemed to be on my side.

"Yes sir. Do you happen to know where they are?" I asked, biting my lip.

"Uh uh son. Not many people deal with that 'sir' crap. It's Charlie. Nice to meet you," he said, shaking my hand.

I shook it back, hoping to hell that he wasn't one of those talkative guys. Little did I know at the time that Charlie Swan was precisely the opposite.

"The Doc and Esme are probably by the exit, over there. See you around Edward," he said, effectively dismissing me.

Thanking him, I hurried over to the doors he'd motioned to. The first person I'd met in Forks seemed pretty decent. I hoped that most people I met would be as nice as Charlie Swan. Sure, he was nothing like my mother, who had a heart of gold, but he'd been helpful, and hadn't told me to get lost.

_Huh. Maybe Forks wasn't so bad._

As I neared, the exit, I scanned the crowds of people for a couple that looked like an older, greyer version of the couple in my photograph. It didn't take me long to find them. I knew that age was kind to the Cullens, and my mother had aged very little physically, but these two took it to a whole new level.

Carlisle stood straight with his arm around his wife, his blue, startling eyes sharp as he scanned those coming off of the plane. His hair was still blond, and hadn't yet receded. There were slight traces of laughter lines around his eyes, just starting to crinkle his pale skin. I had to admit, I could spot the resemblance between us. Esme was smiling widely as she too looked for the boy she was about to welcome into her home, and her curly, caramel hair seemed in perfect condition, much like Carlisle's. Like her husband, she had the very beginnings of wrinkles around her eyes, but otherwise, her skin was untouched by time.

Tentatively I walked up to them, running a hand through my already-dishevelled hair. My mother had spent years trying to tame my hair, and having given up on that, she spent the rest of her years telling me not to make it stick up more. I couldn't help it. It was a habit. I always did it when I was nervous, stressed, or both.

"Are you Carlisle and Esme?" I asked softly. God, how embarrassing would it be if they weren't?

"Yes. Welcome to Forks Edward," Carlisle said, smiling widely.

I thanked him, and, without saying a word, Esme swept me into a motherly hug. If I were being honest, it was nice to be hugged like that again. It reminded me of my mother, but not in a painful way. I sounded like a girl, but whatever. I didn't care. I was always being told I was a nerd, or pathetic, so snide voices in the back of my head didn't matter much.

"We're glad to have you Edward," Esme said.

I smiled at her tone as we left the airport, making conversation all the way to the car. To my surprise, I really liked my aunt and uncle, and they seemed to like me. I didn't understand how Carlisle and my father had fallen out. They both seemed such reasonable men. Carlisle spoke of Charlie, and I told him that d spoken to him momentarily.

"Does he have any children?" I asked.

"Yes. He has two girls, both in your year. Alice, who's a wonderful girl, if not a little excitable, and Bella," Esme said. I caught something in her voice, and sensed that there was something about Bella. I didn't ask, but I hadn't needed to, ask Carlisle elaborated a moment later.

"I've stitched up that girl more times than I can count. She was really clumsy as a kid, and really nice. Great girl. Unfortunately, soon as she started high school, bam! She becomes friends with the town bad-boy, gets drunk at a party and becomes the town bad-girl. If you want to keep your sanity, stay away from her," Carlisle said, sounding bitter.

I knew what it was to be clumsy, it was something I still suffered with, but being popular and 'bad-ass'? No. I'd never been that boy, and I'd never had any wish to date that girl either. It just wasn't me. But then again, if Bella Swan could change that much, then maybe I could too.

"She isn't that bad Carlisle," Esme said, slightly reproachfully, "Nobody can really change that much through one mistake."

"She made several," Carlisle replied, "She became friends with Jacob Black, she got drunk, she went out with Jacob Black, and she let it get to her head."

"Anyway," Esme stressed, rolling her eyes, smiling at me, "What about you Edward? What do you like doing in your spare time?"

"Oh, I - erm, well I play the piano, and I love to read," I said quietly, stuttering a little. I was always nervous around people, I was a shy guy, and that trait had meant I'd never had a girlfriend. Well, I'd had one, Kate, but that had lasted all of a month. So moving town and meeting a school - a town - full of new people was not my idea of fun.

"We have a piano, but neither of us play, so I don't know if it's tuned," Carlisle said.

"Yes, it is. You had it done last month, remember?" Esme asked her husband, raising her eyebrows.

"Right. Apparently it is tuned," Carlisle said, grinning. Esme slapped him lightly round the back of the head, her beautiful face smiling. I found myself grinning along, and was surprised at how easily I could interact with Carlisle and Esme. it was clear, as we climbed into the car, still talking, how still in love with each other they were. It was rather sweet, and I hoped I fitted in to their family.

With a jolt, I realised that I had no idea if they had children or not. It would be helpful to have someone to show me around the place. But then again, they'd probably be very uninterested in me. After all, I was a very uninteresting guy. Boring, nerdy, book-worm... Yeah.

" Do you, er, have any children of your own?" I asked.

A sad looked passed over both their faces, and Carlisle squeezed Esme's hand. I had very little time to ponder over the strange sow of behaviour though, as Esme answered my question.

"We had a little boy once, but he died of lung disease as a baby. I was unable to have any more children."

Oh.

"Oh, I'm sorry Esme, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't be silly Edward. Do we miss him? Yes, all the time, but I'm not unable to speak of him. We want you to feel comfortable here. You can talk to either one of us about anything."

"Thank you, I really appreciate all of this," I said, finding myself feeling rather emotional.

"Edward? You have a bit of a reputation to uphold. Carlisle has become one of the most respected men in the town. Don't argue," Esme said, shooting Carlisle a warning glare as he opened his mouth, probably to protest, "And you and I have to make sure the Cullen name stays respected."

I smiled. I really felt happy here.

***

Having unpacked all my stuff and been shown round the place, I could sit on my bed and bask in the awesomeness that was the Cullen house. I didn't really understand why they needed such a large house for only two people, well, three now, but apparently Esme worked as a part-time interior designer, and had renovated the house before they moved in.

I had to admit, I was impressed. It was a perfect restoration, but areas had been largely modernised. Whole walls had been replaced with glass, and the kitchen was one of those shiny, flashy things with beautifully polished work-surfaces. There was a main living room with a large flat screen TV, and also and slightly smaller, more casual living room upstairs with as lightly smaller TV. Rather than chairs and plush sofas, it contained squishy bean-bags, an old sofa, which was surprisingly comfortable, and a love-seat. Esme had a well-tended garden out back, and she worked it often, according to Carlisle.

I'd already tried out the piano, which was indeed tuned, and had cried a little, to my embarrassment, when I played a piece inspired by my mother. Esme had given me another one of her gentle hugs, and we'd spoken for a while. Carlisle had made dinner - I think Esme had made it, and Carlisle just heated it up - and we ate in the kitchen, around the island.

I laid back on my king-sized bed and looked around my room. Lots of my stuff had been sent ahead of me, and there had been several boxes in my room when I first walked in. One wall was replaced entirely by glass, giving me an amazing view of the forest, and one wall was taken up by several, long and high shelves, which contained all of my music and some films. A DVD player sat on a table, facing my bed, from Carlisle and Esme as a 'welcome' present, and my radio/CD player sat to the left. I loved my room, and I loved the people that were looking after me. Now I just needed to sort out school...

***

I'd known that Carlisle and Esme were well-off - so were my parents - but I hadn't realised how much they could afford until the morning I went off to school. Having eaten Esme's amazing eggs in her pristine kitchen, I'd thrown some stationery into a pencil case, grabbed a notebook, and put all of it in my bag, Esme called me.

"Carlisle had to go out to work early this morning, but he got you a car to get you around the place. And he wanted you to have this," she said, handing me a sleek, black MasterCard. Holy hell...

"You didn't have to. Thank you," I said quietly as Esme gave me the keys too, "Uh, what's my limit?"

"There isn't one, but I'll be checking the statements every month. No frivolous spending. Now off you go!" she said, shoving me out of the door.

I gaped at the sight in front of me. Next to Carlisle's fast black Mercedes, was a brand new, shiny, silver Volvo. Awesome car? Check. Unlimited money on a credit card? Check. Awesome family? Check. It seemed that Forks was far better than I'd expected it to be. I certainly wasn't complaining.

I climbed into the car and keyed the engine, driving fast. According to my father, all Cullens drove fast, and I was no exception. Carlisle had got us back to Forks pretty quickly too. Every time my father talked about driving quickly, my mother would roll her eyes, and tell him off for giving me dangerous ideas. Her efforts were futile though, driving fast was instinct for me.

After speeding quite a lot, I got to Forks High quicker than I'd expected. I parked in a free space near the reception area and got out, taking my bag with me as I headed through the rickety door that lead to the reception and walked up to the desk. I collected my timetable from the secretary, Mrs. Cope, and was shown the quickest routes to all my classrooms on a map. She then ushered me out of the room, telling me that I had a few minutes before school started, not giving me the map. Had I not been a shy guy, I'd have asked for it.

I walked into the parking lot and headed back over to my Volvo. Leaning against the hood, I pulled out my timetable and scanned across it. I had calculus first, and then Spanish. I'd done quite a lot of Spanish in Phoenix, so that wouldn't be a problem. Calc though? No. I was terrible at all things math. I then had History, then lunch. I had biology after that, and then gym last. Oh great. I was a complete klutz. Gym was not my forte, needless to say.

I glanced up, and saw that the parking lot had begun to fill up more. People stood around in groups, talking and laughing with each other. I felt like a real loser standing on my own. I looked around at the people. There was a tall, dark-haired girl standing by a car that I assumed belonged to her, and a black-haired guy that had his arm around her. I guessed they were a couple. A black-haired, pixie-like girl stood by a bright yellow Porsche - which was by far the flashiest car in the place - with a blond-haired dude that looked calm and brooding. They appeared to be a couple. The girl was talking to a blond chick, who was leaning against a great hunk of a guy. Blondie looked like she'd walked straight from a Hollywood fashion magazine, and the guy looked like a massive Welsh rugby player.

Across the parking lot, nearer to the school entrance, there was a group of very uninteresting boys - other than some guy that was strutting around like an over-preened peacock - and a group of girls, who were all eyeing me. There was a tall blond one, that seemed to be the leader of them all, with piercing blue eyes and a rather large chest. A girl stood next to her, at about the same height with green eyes and curly red hair. The two seemed to arguing, and I couldn't really tell who was dominant. One of them was probably the 'Queen Bee' of Forks High. Assuming they were sophisticated enough to have one.

I guessed this was the 'in-girls' group. There was a shorter girl with brown hair, and two others with blond hair. One had stringy hair, and was wearing lots of make-up, and the other looked slightly bored, but pretty natural. The first blond was revealing far too much of herself, and had on a pair of bright scarlet stilettos. Honestly.

Another car pulled out in the parking lot. A red Chevy truck, and it parked in one smooth motion. Out stepped a beautiful brunette, with waves of silky hair, and deep chocolate eyes. I had to stop myself from staring at the miles of leg that were clad in tightly fitted jeans, and at the shirt that hugged her perfectly curved body. She wasn't fake, though she wore a little make-up, and she was absolutely stunning.

Unfortunately, she had a smirk on her face.

And then she walked over to the 'in-girls'.

She walked over to them, and started speaking. Looked like she was the Queen Bee of Forks High. String-Hair was throwing the dark-haired girl by her car some rather rude glances, and talking, probably insulting her. The brunette immediately snapped at her, and Dark-Hair shot her a small smile. They seemed to have some kind of tentative truce. An argument broke out amongst the girls, but was quickly settled by the Queen Bee.

Letting out a small sigh, I shouldered my bag and headed into the building. My locker wasn't hard to find, and was a combination lock, which saved me carrying keys around with me. Of course, I didn't have anything to put in or take out, so I just stood there and stared, feeling like a bit of an idiot. I knew that I'd need to try and keep a low profile for a while. I was new, so everyone would talk about me for a while.

I wondered suddenly whether the girl in the parking lot was the Bella Swan that Carlisle had spoken of? Carlisle had said that she had become the town's bad-girl. Well she seemed to have her girls bending to do her bidding, and she certainly didn't have much trouble stopping those insults to the dark-haired girl.

As I fished around for my padlock and closed my locker, I realised that someone had just left the locker next to me. And not just anyone, but the girl I'd guessed to be Bella Swan. I realised that I had no idea where my calculus classroom was. Feeling nervous, I spoke out, deciding to ask her.

"Excuse me?" I asked quietly.

She spun round, and her eyes took me in. A flash of something crossed her features, but I didn't catch what it was.

"I'm sorry, could you tell me where the calculus classroom is?" I asked softly.

"Um, yeah. Down there, turn left, third door on your right," she said, "Didn't Mrs. Cope give you a map?"

"No. Thank you-" I hesitated, not knowing actually knowing her name.

"Bella. Bella Swan. And you are?" she asked.

"Edward Cullen," I mumbled, blushing, "Bye Bella."

I turned away and hurried off, down the corridor she'd indicated. Well crap. The first person I'd spoken to was the most popular girl n the entire school. That was incredibly embarrassing.

Hopefully I didn't have any lessons with her...

I entered the classroom when the bell rang, and sat down in an empty seat near the middle. That was fairly neutral right? I found myself chewing on my lip as I waited for the class to fill in, fiddling with my pen. I heard the chair next to me scrape the hard floor slightly, and I looked up to see the blond guy in the parking lot. He shot me a smile.

"I'm saving you. The jerks here think of you as their new, shiny toy," he said, accompanied by a slight grimace, "I'm Jasper Hale."

"Edward Cullen," I said, taking an instant liking to the guy.

"So, you any good at calc?" he asked, flicking back his long, curly hair.

"Um, no. I'm terrible at it," I said, feeling a blush rise up my cheeks.

"So you're from Phoenix huh? That's a new one. Have you met anyone else yet?" he asked.

"No," I said, hoping I didn't sound rude. I just felt incredibly shy, and was no good at making new friends.

"I'll introduce you to the only good people in the school. Well, I mean... Oh never mind. You'll hear sooner or later anyway," he said, sighing.

I desperately wanted to know what he was on about, and what I'd hear sooner or later, but one, I didn't want to press the issue as I'd only just met the guy, and two, the teacher walked in at that moment, demanding instant silence. I felt a pair of eyes in the back of my head all through the lesson.

When the bell finally rang after an hour of torture, Jasper snickered at my relief. I told him how much I hated calculus, finding myself quite comfortable with him, which was a very new thing for me. He seemed like a nice guy, and he certainly didn't seem like the bastards in Phoenix. Sure, I had friends, but those on the football team didn't like me much.

"Who was the girl drilling holes in the back of my head?" I asked Jasper. It was the tall blond from the parking lot, and her gaze hadn't wavered from my head all through the lesson.

"The blond? Tanya Denali. She's in league with Bella, stay away," Jasper said, his tone very grim.

"What?"

"Bella Swan is the school's Queen Bee, and she spends her life flirting with boys. She's not that girl," he said hurriedly, noticing my expression, "But the idiots here can't resist a pretty face, so she has fun flirting with them. Her boyfriend, Jacob Black, couldn't care less. Stay away from him too. Anyway, Bella and her girls are bad. Bella is... Well, she doesn't stand for any shit, including her sheep picking on anyone, but she's just bad. She wasn't always. According to Alice-"

I cut him off.

"Her sister?"

"Yeah. How d'you know?"

"I ran into Charlie Swan at the airport, and mentioned it to Carlisle and Esme. They told me about Bella's change," I said, slightly nervously. I felt a blush cover my cheeks again. I didn't know if I'd overstepped a boundary. Hell, I didn't know who Jasper was to Bella. He may hate her anyway, or he may be her ex. There was no way to tell.

"Oh right. Alice is my girlfriend, and was one of Bella's best friends. According to Alice, the old Bella is still in there," Jasper said.

"I have Spanish next," I said, not sure how to reply. Jasper looked relieved at the subject change.

"I've got history. With Bella. It's unbelievably awkward, let me tell you. I used to spend my spare time hanging out with her, and now we hardly speak. What d'you have after Spanish?"

"History."

"So does Alice. Black hair, pixie-like. Find her," Jasper said, waving.

I said goodbye to Jasper, and headed to Spanish. Well, at least I'd found someone I could become friends with, if he excepted me. We were friendly now, but I hoped Jasper and I could be friends. I needed one, and he seemed like a nice guy. He'd mentioned that he liked football, and played. I liked football, but I was too uncoordinated to play. We had some music in common too. He played the guitar, and liked pretty much everything. I just couldn't abide rap, but otherwise I liked most stuff.

I opened the door to the Spanish classroom and sat down in the middle again. Alice Swan didn't seem to be in there yet, so once again, I sat in the middle. Almost immediately, the brown-haired girl from the parking lot stood by my desk. I looked up warily, remembering Jasper's warning about Bella's girls. The girl thrust out her chest, and shot me a smile.

"So you're Edward Cullen? I'm Jessica Stanley," she said in a voice that was supposed to be seductive. It just made me nervous. Why the hell was she flirting with me?

"Uh-"

"Jessica!" called an irritated voice from the doorway, "Leave Edward alone."

Jessica let out a little snarl, and moved away, so I could see my saviour. This girl was clearly Alice Swan. She was little, probably only five foot three or so, and had ebony hair that was styled in a pixie cut. She looked like a pixie in every possible way. Jessica moved away from my desk, and Alice sat down.

"Alice Cullen, but you know that," she said, smiling. She didn't give me a chance to reply. "So you met Jazz?" I nodded. "Great! We'll introduce you to Rose and Emmett at lunch. They're a couple in the year above us. Oh! And Angela and Ben, though I bet you'll meet them before lunch. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," she said upon spotting my expression.

"No it's- I'm just a shy guy Alice. New places and people aren't my kind of thing," I admitted, "And I don't really understand why you and Jasper are being like this. It's not that I don't appreciate," I added quickly.

"No it's ok Edward. You're a Cullen, and the Cullens are good people," she said, smiling.

"Right. Because of Carlisle?" I asked.

"No, Esme does a lot for the town too. She's been like a second mother to Bella and myself over the years. Even now, I know that Bella would go to Esme if she really needed to. Hell, she probably does," Alice added.

"Settle down class!" called a Spanish woman at the front.

***

The lesson passed quickly, and due to Alice's presence I think, I avoided any confrontation with Jessica, or another of Bella's girls, Lauren Mallory, the blond with stringy blond hair who was wearing extremely skimpy clothing. According to Alice, Bella had found her straddling some guy, both naked, at a party at the end of last year. Apparently Lauren was the school slut.

"So you have history now? I've got art now, but both Angela and Ben have history. You probably saw them this morning. Lauren threw some nice insults at Angela. Bye!" Alice said, waving.

Feeling a little dazed, I walked away from Alice, to the history classroom. I spotted Angela Webber, as I'd learned she was, at almost exactly the same moment she spotted me. She shot me a smile and I made my way over to her nervously. It had been impossible to be nervous around Alice, really, but Angela was just a normal girl.

As it was, we got on just fine. Angela had also been a close friend of Bella, and she told me of the tentative truce they shared. I was introduced to Ben Cheney, her boyfriend, but we seemed to have little in common. Don't get me wrong, he seemed nice enough, but we didn't really share any hobbies or anything. I was the nerd, he was the footballer. Angela told me that the red-head that morning had been Victoria Hunter, and that the other blond was Jane.

We walked to lunch together, and I was once again nervous. I'd be meeting Rosalie Hale, Jasper's sister, and her boyfriend, Emmett McCarty, who was Ben's best friend. According to Angela, once together, they were a force to be reckoned with. All havoc could quite easily break lose.

"So you've met Bella huh?" Angela asked.

"Sort of. As I said, I only asked her where the calc classroom was."

"And she didn't flirt with you?"

"Not at all."

"Hm. Interesting."

"How so?"

"Spend a few days here and you'll understand," Angela said as we approached the table.

"Edward, meet Emmett and Rosalie, the school's popular couple," Ben said, grinning.

As we said hello, I found myself liking the group of friends instantly. I hoped like hell they'd except me. Because if they did, then Forks would be perfect. Great house, great family, great car, great friends. What more could a guy ask for? Well, perhaps a great girlfriend, but I could work on that. I needed to come out of my shell a bit first.

***

**A/N**

**I know this is rather, long, but I couldn't really shorten it, else Bella and Edward would be out of synch. I think I'll be switching between Edward's and Bella's POV by alternate chapters. **

**Hope you enjoyed it, and please drop a comment to tell me what you thought. I'll take love or hate or Robert Pattinson. Any is fine!**

**Lucy xX**


	3. Chapter 3-Who Am I?

Bella's POV

As usual, English passed in a blur. It was the only lesson of the day that I didn't have with any of the girls or any of my old friends, and it gave me a chance to just... Be myself. The problem was, I didn't know who I was any more. Once, I'd been your average girl. A bit of a nerd, quiet, shy, good. And then I turned into your classic bad-girl. I had no idea who I was supposed to be. At home, I was somewhere in between, and at school, I spent my time flirting and playing it bad.

But it just wasn't me.

None of it was. I didn't think I could go back to being who I once was, and yet I didn't like who I'd made myself. Let's face it, I'd fucked up majorly. It had just taken my far, far too long to realise what a big mistake I'd made. And how did I realise? In my English class that morning.

As I flicked through 'Wuthering Heights', a book I'd read a hundred times, I was thinking back to Edward Cullen. Unlike every other guy I ran into, I had absolutely no urge to flirt with him. In fact, I'd spoken to him in almost a, well, a normal way. Maybe that was who I was. Unfortunately though, I needed more than an exchange of a few words to start building up a life with me being me.

And there was something else nagging at my mind. There was something that really, really bothered me about Edward Cullen. It wasn't that he made me blush again, like I had as a child more often than not, and it wasn't that my heart was thudding my my chest when we spoke. I wasn't crushing on him. He wasn't the kind of guy I fell for. There was just something about him that I couldn't push away. His face was etched into my mind all through the lesson.

The bell rang, and I booked it from the classroom. I'd noticed Tyler following me, and I really wasn't in the mood to flirt with people, as strange as that sounded to my own ears. I threw my bag over my shoulder and dashed into the history classroom. History was always an awkward lesson. Mainly because I sat next to Jasper.

I adored Jasper. There was no other way to put it. I often wished I had a claim on him as my brother. I knew that he was in a great relationship with my sister, and I had no intention or want to snag him for myself. I didn't think of him like that. But Jasper had always been more supportive of me than anyone else, save for Angela perhaps. He was the only person from my old life that I willingly talked to at school. Of course, I had to talk to my sister at home.

I sat down next to him, and we exchanged a small smile. Jasper was always very apt at sensing people's moods and emotions, and he knew something was on my mind. Being the tactful guy he was, however, Jasper didn't bring it up as the lesson began.

"Does that guy get any more boring?" I asked Jasper as the teacher began to read from the textbook in the most boring, uninteresting voice ever.

"Probably," he replied with a grimace.

At long long last, he shut his boring old mouth, and told us to get on with our work. Quiet chatter broke out through the classroom, and Jasper kept glancing at me, as though decoding whether or not to say whatever he was thinking about. I sighed and set my pen down, turning to him.

"Spit it out."

"Have you met Edward Cullen yet?"

I groaned.

"Yes. I'm sick of hearing his name. He seems like a nice enough guy, hell, he's related to Carlisle, of course he's nice, but I'm sick of the rumours and chatter about him."

"Me too Bella. He's pretty shy isn't he?"

"Yeah. And hot," I replied.

Jasper chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"Good God, do you actually think I'd date someone like Edward?"

"Whatever."

The rest of the lesson passed in silence. That was how it always was. We'd have one decent conversation, and it would seem like old times again, and then it would come to an abrupt end, and neither of us would say anything else. Well, at least there was that one good conversation.

I headed to my next lesson, Trig, with a sigh. I had mumbled a goodbye to Jasper, and then met up with Tanya and Victoria, who were both in my Trig class. We all sat in a row, myself in the middle, and things had been known to get heated between the two girls as they fought over me. Had I been a vain person, I would have been flattered.

As it was, it just annoyed the shit out of me.

I sighed again as Victoria stalked up to Tanya and I, shooting Tanya a glare. The walk to Trig was silent. I knew that at some point I needed to sort out this thing between the two of them, and I decided that at lunch was as good a time as any. Victoria kept up a stream of complaints through the lesson, and Tanya kept up a stream of irritating chatter. Trig wasn't exactly my best subject, and I needed to concentrate. I didn't mind Tanya's chatter, as I learnt to tune it out - my sister did the same, so I had had practise - but Victoria was rubbing me the wrong way.

"Vic, will you shut up?" I hissed, "I know this is hard, I know Edward is fuck-hot, and I know you hate Emmett. I need hardly remind you that I still care for him, so watch it."

I gave her a glare, and was pleased to see that she didn't say another word through the lesson. Lunch would be interesting...

***

"Oh my God, did you see Edward in Spanish? He was so cute," Jessica gushed, causing me to roll my eyes.

"He's fuck-hot," Jane agreed.

"Hm. I bet he's had a few girlfriends in the past. I could make his evenings worth his while..." Lauren said, running her fingers along the table.

Ugh.

"Lauren, leave Edward alone," Tanya said, a little reproachful.

"Do you have a crush on him then?" Victoria asked, her voice dangerously sweet.

"Who doesn't? Look at him for crying out loud. But who wants Lauren all over them?"

Tanya had a very good point.

"Look here Tanya," Victoria hissed, "I want Edward for myself. He-"

"Shut it Victoria," I snapped, "You're always having a go at Tanya. Leave her the fuck alone or I will fucking ruin you."

"I'm tired of this shit," Victoria said, standing up. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"Don't go being so over-dramatic Victoria. But behave, please."

There ended my participation in the conversation.

***

Lunch was distinctly uninteresting. The conversation was boring, centering around Edward Cullen and his hotness. I was sick and tired of hearing the guy's fucking name, and it was pissing me the hell off. Victoria had stalked off a little way through lunch, claiming she had to take a phone call. The bitch was up to something, and we both new it.

The only mildly exciting thing that had happened at lunch, was that I saw Edward hanging around with Jasper and company. Don't get me wrong, I was glad the new kid had found a good bunch of friends, and they were a great bunch, but I wasn't sure how he'd managed it. They took a while to warm to people properly. They excepted people, but Edward looked like he belonged, for the most part. Sure, he blushed a lot, but he was a shy guy.

I realised it was probably because of his surname. Not because of the dollar signs attatched to his name - they weren't those kind of people, I knew that - but because of Carlisle and Esme. The entire group knew the Cullens well, except for Ben, and they were always welcomed. Edward was a relative, and he seemed like a nice guy. Why wouldn't they befriend him? He seemed to fit in with them nicely.

The bell couldn't have rung soon enough, and I picked up my bag, throwing my crap in there and headed to biology with Jessica and Victoria. Victoria was behaving like a fucking child, and was giving us the silent treatment. Whatever. Jess was nice enough, and we kept up a stream of conversation that didn't, thank God, revolve around Edward Cullen.

I pushed open the door to the classroom, and saw the students gathering around a tiny piece of paper on the wall. I couldn't read it from where I stood, but I assumed it was a seating plan. Apparently our teacher, Mr. Banner, didn't let you sit where you wanted to. I hoped to holy hell I wouldn't be jammed next to Victoria.

We pushed our way through the students, and I hollered for them to get out of my fucking way. God they were dim. I looked at the paper for a moment, searching for my name. Mr. Banner had written at the top that these would be our lab-partners for the rest of the year, and that we weren't allowed to ask to change partners during the middle of a lab. Seemed fair enough to me. My name was in the middle row, slightly to the left. My lab-partner caught my eye, and I gasped.

Edward Cullen.

I had no idea why that bothered me so much.

I told Jess and Victoria who my lab-partner was, and they both looked incredulous.

"Lucky bitch," Jessica said playfully.

"Leave Cullen to me," Victoria snapped.

"Stop behaving like a child Victoria. He's a person, not a possession sweet-heart," I said, adding the endearment in a mocking tone. She snarled at me, but a raise of one eyebrow put a fucking stop to that.

In a really crappy mood, I say down at my desk with a huff and crossed one leg over the other. Edward had yet to appear, though he had five minutes to spare. I'd just booked it out of the canteen as soon as I could. If I'd had to listen to Lauren's slut talk for another second, my brain would have spontaneously combusted. No joke.

As soon as Edward walked through the door, he was assaulted by Victoria. I rolled my eyes at the bitch. She was beyond fucking annoying, and she would get it if she kept this up. She'd been a bitch before, but today was something else entirely. She'd never been that bad before, and I wondered whether she was on drugs, and seeing Edward tipped her over the edge. It wouldn't freaking surprise me.

I watched Victoria irritate the shit out of Edward for a few moments. It was almost comical to watch. Poor Edward had no idea why she was behaving like she was, and being the shy nerd he was - not that being shy or a nerd was a bad thing - he couldn't muster up the courage to tell her to fuck off. Emmett would have told her to back the fuck off or he'd rearrange her face. The thought brought a sad smile to my face.

When Victoria touched his chest, laying her palm against his ribs, I'd had enough. Poor guy was bright red, and looked horrified. I stood up, glaring at Mike Newton when he moved towards me. I laid a hand on Victoria's arm and yanked her away from Edward. The guy looked relieved, but blushed again when he saw that it was me.

"I think that's enough flirting, don't you?" I asked, my voice deadly as I looked her straight in the eye. I heard her gulp, and I smirked. Serves the bitch right...

"It's time for new blood Swan," she whispered in my ear.

Oh she had no idea who she was fucking with.

"Excuse me?" I asked coldly. She spun round to face me, and I glared at her. She backed away slightly.

"I-"

"I've had enough of your fucking games Victoria," I said sharply, "Either you stop with this idiocy, or I will ruin you.

Everyone was staring, and I glared at them. Victoria stalked off to her seat, which, I was glad to say, was on the other side of the classroom. I sat down heavily in my seat and sighed. Twice. Twice in one day I'd had to threaten my girls because they forgot that I was the Queen Bee. You don't fuck with Bella Swan and get the hell away with it. How hard was it to get that through their thick skulls?

I heard the chair to my left scrape across the floor lightly, and I looked up at Edward. He looked nervous, and kept shooting me worried glances as he pulled out his stuff and sat down, throwing his bag under the desk as he did so. He bit his lip momentarily, in the same way I once had when I was nervous. He ran a hand through his already-messy hair. I shot him a smile.

"Hey Edward," I said quietly.

"Hi Bella," he replied, hesitating before he spoke again, "I, uh, about back there, I, just, thank you," he stuttered.

That was sweet.

"It's ok Edward. Victoria isn't usually such a bitch."

"That's not what I've heard," he muttered, probably thinking I couldn't hear. Little did he know, I had amazing hearing, and my eye-sight was freaking perfect. Nevertheless, I decided not to comment. He had a good taste in friends, and they almost certainly hated myself and my girls. I didn't really care much though. Jasper and I got on for an hour a day, and I could live with my sister. I wasn't going to stand for people talking shit about them, and they knew it. Other than that, what mattered? Exactly.

Mr. Banner walked in at that moment, and told us that we'd be identifying parts of onion root cells. That suited me just fine. I loved biology, and I hoped to become a doctor in the future. Identifying cells didn't have me worried. Standing up, I grabbed a microscope from the back and saw Edward pulling off a thin layer of onion. He was good, I thought, as I watched him. And hot, added a really irritating voice in my head.

I returned to our desk and prepared the microscope, not noticing Edward sit down until I turned my head towards his seat to flick the switch that powered the light. My hand brushed his, and a spark shot through my arm. My head snapped to his, shocked, and I was glad to see that he looked equally puzzled. Huh. Blushing adorably, he flicked the switch on and let me snap the slide in, before I leant back. He glanced at the cell for a moment.

"That's prophase," he murmured, before moving to write it on the sheet.

"Do I get to look or are you doing this lab on your own?" I asked snarkily.

"Sure," he mumbled, pushing the microscope towards me. I felt bad as soon as I saw his face. I'd hurt his feelings by being a complete bitch. It wasn't Edward's fault that I was having a bad day, and was consequently in a bad mood. I sighed quietly as I looked at the microscope. He was right.

"Prophase," I agreed.

We spent the rest of the lesson exchanging a minimal amount of words, avoiding each other. I felt bad for Edward, I really did. He was new to Forks, and his parents had just died. The last thing he needed was some bitch like me sitting next to him in biology. He seemed to be good at it too. The guy was amazing all-round. Smart, hot, nice... A girl could easily fall for him.

Just not me.

The bell rang, and I swept up my bag before running from the classroom. I didn't want to talk to Jessica or Victoria, and I wanted to think. My last class of the day was art, and I usually sat with Tanya or Jane. Today, however, I was feeling brave, and I was feeling different. All of that seemed to be a result of Edward, and that bothered me. It bothered me nearly as much as he himself did.

Angela was already sitting at her desk when I walked in, blatantly ignoring Tanya and Jane as they hollered my name. I bit my lip, something I hadn't done much since my freshman year, and walked over to her, feeling like a complete idiot. She looked up, surprise clear on her face, and I felt myself blush slightly. Another thing I hadn't really done for years.

"Mind if I sit here?" I asked quietly.

Angela just shook her head. Tanya and Jane were both shooting me strange glances, and were muttering, heads together as they glared at Angela. An icy look from myself sent them on their way. I needed to talk to Angela, and I was thankful that our teacher, Mrs. Williams, didn't mind us chatting.

I didn't even have a chance to open my mouth, as Mrs. Williams walked in at that very second. She told us that we'd be beginning some landscape paintings, which suited me fine. I liked painting, though not nearly so much as sketching. I pulled out my stuff and a canvas, and began to paint. Reflective of my mood, it was rather a dark, angry painting. I was by no means an amazing artist, but I enjoyed it, and it was a good way to take out my anger. It was definitely better than lashing out at Edward again.

"Angela?" I asked, my voice low.

"Hm?"

"I, uh, I guess I need to talk to you," I said, feeling pathetic.

"Why don't you go talk to Lauren or Victoria?" she snapped.

I sighed.

"I don't like either of them. You know that."

"Ok then. Go talk to Jessica. You can't take me back into your life to bitch about something whenever it suits you," she replied, her voice cold and closed.

Well fuck. I really needed to talk to Angela, and this conversation was not going the way I wanted it to. As though to block me out, Angela let her long, straight, ebony hair fall over her shoulder, creating a curtain between us, hiding her face from me. It was something shed learnt from me. Being shy, I needed a way to hide my blush.

"Ok. You're right, I can't."

Angela said nothing. I couldn't see the expression in her large brown eyes, so I decided to speak anyway. I knew she was listening, even if she had nothing to say to me.

"I'm sorry Ang," I began, and she flinched when I used her old nickname, "I really am. I'm not happy being who I've made myself. I've been pushing away everyone I care about for so long, I've lost them. It just took me far too long to realise that I'm so far from who I really am that I've lost who I once was. I don't know who I am any more Angela, and I've got no idea what to do. I can't be the me I was, and I can't stay the way I am now. I'm so confused," I whispered.

To my surprise, when I looked across, expecting to see Angela's glare, I saw a sympathetic expression on her face. She shot me a sad smile, and let out a sigh, looking down at her work through her glasses. Angela was an amazing artist, and I'd always envied her for that.

"You haven't lost us Bella," she said, "But you have pushed us away. I don't know what to say Bella, I really don't. I understand what you've said, but I don't know how to help you. You need to earn back my friendship and my trust, and I suspect I speak for everyone. I can't tell you who you are. That's up to you."

I couldn't argue with what she said. I hadn't been expecting her to act like nothing had changed, and except me back right away. Actually, if she had, I'd probably have had to question whether an alien had implanted itself in her brain.

The remained of the lesson passed quietly, but Angela and I did talk about very safe topics. I asked after Ben, and this massive great smile spread across her face. Thankfully, she hadn't mentioned Jacob. That was something else I needed to think about. Hell, that day had been taxing. Twenty-four hours ago, I was happy with life, and I loved who I'd made myself. Now, I was lost, confused, and pained. I was in a mess.

The bell rang, and I left the classroom, still talking to Angela. I ended up walking all the way to her locker with her, earning myself stares from everyone, including Angela's friends. I said goodbye to her, and we exchanged tentative smiles. Maybe that was the start of something.

As soon as I'd left her, I was assaulted by my girls.

"What the hell is going on?" Tanya asked.

"Why we're you with her in Art?" Jane asked, equally puzzled as Tanya.

"Why are you hanging out with Webber?"

"What's with the change of heart?"

"Why are you even speaking to that bitch?"

I rounded on Victoria, who had dared to utter the latter, and shot her a cold, furious glare. It was taking everything in me not to slap her, and Jessica had clearly noticed it. She laid a gentle hand on my lower arm, and guided me to my locker. I yanked it open and sorted our my stuff, grabbing what I needed for homework and shutting it again.

"Not that it's any of your fucking business who I hang around with Victoria," I sneered, "But I was hanging around with Angela because I wanted to."

"But why?" Lauren asked, incredulous.

"Why the fuck do you care?" I retorted.

"Because you're Queen Bee, and Webber is a low-life goody-goody," Victoria said, shrugging.

Oh that did it.

"Shut it!" I ordered fiercely, "There is nothing wrong with Angela, and it doesn't matter what my social status is. If you can't get your head around it, then perhaps I should dedicate my spare time to ruining you? And you don't want that. Because lets face it bitch, not only am I more popular than you, but I'm far scarier than you, and you are shaking in your fucking shoes. So perhaps you'd care to shut up?" I suggested, keeping my voice deadly.

Victoria shivered slightly, and I smirked at her. I was glad to know I still ruled this place, and that people were still terrified of me. Hell, I was Queen Bee, and I had Forks High wrapped around my finger very snugly. Just the way I liked it. Forks High was under my command, and I hung around with the populars.

For now.

***

**A/N**

**So you may have noticed that Jasper is in this quite a lot? Well I've noticed that Jasper doesn't have a very big part in many fanfictions, and yet I find him an intriguing character. Jasper will be in this quite a lot in the future too.**  
**So what do you think of Bella? She's starting to change a bit, but who will she end up as? **

**Lucy xX**


	4. Chapter 4-Friendly Truce

Edward's POV

Biology had been awkward, to say the least. I'd nearly had a heart-attack when I'd seen that my lab-partner was Bella Swan, and I was even more freaked out when Victoria Hunter began to adult me the second I walked in. Honestly, what the hell? I was incredibly thankful when someone pulled her away, but was back on edge when I saw that it was Bella.

I'd sat down with Bella, feeling like a right idiot, and had nervously thanked her for getting rid of Victoria. She'd said something about Victoria not usually being so horrible, and I had to hold back a snort. I'd heard differently from Bella's old friends. The lesson passed in near-silence after she snapped at me, and we exchanged as few words as possible. I had no idea what I'd done to annoy her, but she certainly didn't like me.

The bell rang, and Bella booked it from the classroom, leaving me feeling dazed. I shook my head a little, and picked up my junk, heading to gym, which was my last lesson. As I was wandering down the corridor, trying not to fall flat on my face, some dude with greasy blond hair walked up to me and introduced himself as Mike Newton.

"So you're from Phoenix huh?" he asked, shoving his thumbs casually in his front pockets and winking at Lauren as she passed us.

"Yes," I said shortly.

"Aren't people from Arizona meant to be more tanned?"

"My mother's an albino," I said sarcastically.

"Oh," he said, feigning interest. Jesus.

Did he not understand sarcasm? Freaking hell...

"So why did you move down to Forks?" Mike asked as we neared the gym.

"It's complicated," I lied. I didn't really want to talk to this guy about my parents. If there was anyone here I was going to talk to about my dead folks, it would be Carlisle or Esme, or possibly Jasper. I was surprised Mike hadn't heard already. After all, it was a small town, and gossip spread fast. Mike shrugged.

"I'm sure I'll keep up."

"I'm not," I muttered quietly. He didn't hear me, of course, or if he did he didn't seem affected by my insult. He merely raised an eyebrow as though to say 'well?'.

"Look, I'm not going to talk about my parents," I said, without thinking. Crap, crap, crap.

"Your parents? What about them?"

I groaned.

"Nothing."

"Must be something. Anyway, why d'you move down here? Didn't enjoy the sun?"

"I miss the sun."

"Why then?"

"Fuck Mike, leave the guy alone!" I heard the unmistakable voice of Emmett boom, "He's trying to tell you to back the fuck off. Do it, or I'll rearrange your fucking face. Perhaps the girls would like you more if I did. It can't make it any worse."

I shot Emmett a grateful glance, although I wasn't sure the last three sentences were necessary. Mike glared at him, but Emmett didn't really seem concerned. He grinned at me, waved, and walked off. Mike smirked at me, and bashed hard into my shoulder as he passed me, clearly deciding I wasn't worth his time.

***

My first day at Forks High passed slowly, and Carlisle and Esme were glad to hear that I'd made some friends. Carlisle assured me that Jasper was a good guy, and had never been in any serious trouble. I was glad that I had their approval, and I found myself enjoying my aunt and uncle's company. I did mention in passing that Bella was my lab-partner, but neither seemed overly concerned.

The following day, I made up my mind to confront Bella about her bitchy behaviour. Maybe she'd been having a bad day, but that didn't mean I needed to be on the receiving end of her anger. I didn't see her truck in the parking lot in the morning, although her sheep were huddling together, giggling and throwing me significant glances. Jesus Christ.

Shaking my head a little at their behaviour, I headed into the building regretfully, as the sun had just come out. I piled my crap into my bag and walked to calc. Jasper was talking and laughing with Emmett, and I tried to decide whether or not to join in. I wasn't entirely sure where I stood with Jasper and his friends.

"Yo Ed!" Emmett hollered, making the decision for me. Usually, I hated people calling me 'Ed', but somehow I didn't mind it coming from Emmett. I strode over to them, smiling a little.

"H-" I began, but Emmett cut me off.

"There are the football trials this afternoon, you coming?"

I snorted.

"Please. Have you seen me in gym? I can barely walk across a flat surface without falling over."

"Right," Emmett said with a grin, "But you'll come watch me kick some ass right?"

"Sure."

"You coming this year Jazz?"

"Nah. I'll keep Edward company in the stands. Is Rose cheer-leading?"

I choked a little, and tried to pass it off as a cough. Emmett thumped me, hard, on the back, breaking a couple of ribs in the process.

"You ok man?"

"Rosalie cheers?"

"Sure does. She's head cheer-leader. It pisses off Bella's girls. Talking of which, have you seen Bella?" Jasper asked.

"No," Emmett said, "And Edward? If Rosie hears you calling her 'Rosalie', she'll kick your butt."

I nodded. Seriously? These guys were mad, and yet, somehow, I found myself really getting along with them. That thought floated around my brain for most of the day, along with, who knew nerdy little Edward would start hanging out with cheer-leaders and footballers?

I managed to avoid any form of confrontation all morning, and I was told during lunch that Bella wasn't in. I looked over to the table her girls were sitting at, and saw them all arguing, looking utterly furious and a little bit lost. Honestly. It seemed that save for Bella, they were all complete air-heads, wandering around like lost puppies.

The bell rang, and I sighed, knowing that I had to get through biology on my own. I bid my friends goodbye, and walked out of the lunch hall quickly. Of course, the second I was out, I was attacked. I heard someone calling my name, and I recognised the voice as Victoria's. Where was Jasper when you needed him?

"Edward," she purred again, this tie resting a manicured hand on my shoulder. I gritted my teeth.

"Leave me alone, please."

"Wouldn't you like to go out this weekend?"

"No. I'm sorry, but no. Please go away."

"I'll make it worth your while," she said, running her hand down my arm.

"Victoria!" barked the voice of Rosalie Hale. Thank God...

"What?" she snapped, turning away from me.

I threw Rose a grateful glance and rushed into biology. I took my seat with a little sigh. I wasn't exactly the master of biology, and Bella was pretty good. With a sigh, I pulled out my junk and listened to Mr. Banner as he told us what we'd be doing in the lesson. We were studying micro-organisms, which sounded vaguely interesting.

The lesson passed slowly, owing to the fact that I had nobody to exchange even a few words with, and it was a relief when the bell rang. I walked out of the classroom quickly, trying to avoid anyone. I didn't see Mike on my way down to gym, which was a relief. I spotted Jane in the changing room, but she didn't make to approach me.

The lesson passed without me inflicting injury on myself, although I did manage to hit Mike in the back of the head. It was a complete accident, but Mike sure as hell didn't think it was. He glared at me, and I averted my eyes a little. I was still shy, and I still hated any confrontations.

"Watch it Cullen," he spat.

***

Bella wasn't in school at all over the following two days, and I had to admit, I stopped looking. I was no longer hoping she'd turn up so I could ask her about her behaviour, as I'd given it more thought. I barely knew Bella Swan, and she sure as hell wouldn't appreciate it if I started poking my nose where it wasn't wanted. So when she did finally turn up, that Friday, I was slightly nervous about the coming biology lesson.

Over lunch, I noticed that there was far less arguing amongst Bella's sheep, and they looked more normal. Their mistress was back, and they had their orders. Clearly, they needed to be told what to do all the time. Really. When the bell rang, Jasper picked up on my nervousness.

"What's up Edward?" he asked.

"Bella. I know it's stupid, but I'm nervous about sitting next to her in biology again. I mean, I told you about Monday, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. Seriously Edward, just be yourself and don't take any of her shit to heart. If she acts like a bitch again, she really isn't worth your worries," he said. I sighed. I knew he was right, but it was easier said than done.

When I reached the classroom, Bella was already sitting down in her seat. This time, she hadn't angled herself away from my seat, and her hair was tied back so that it couldn't fall over her shoulder. Biting my lip rather hard, I made to sit down. Of course, I managed to trip over someone's bag, and I began to fall forwards. In the split second I was falling, I realised that my head was aiming right for the corner of a desk.

Just as I was about to knock myself out, a hand wrapped around my upper arm, holding me up enough to right myself. Everyone began to laugh. Blushing furiously, I looked up from under my eyelashes, and was mortified to see Bella. I blushed even redder, mumbled a 'thank you', and sat down in my seat, looking anywhere but the brunette next to me.

After a few seconds, Bella broke the silence between us.

"Edward? Are you ok?"

"Yeah," I muttered, "Thanks."

"Ignore them," Bella said, obviously referring to our jeering classmates, "They have yet to grow their second brain cell. It must be hard."

As she flashed me a beautiful smile, I felt myself blushing again. I did, however, crack a small smile.

"Look, I," she hesitated a little, "I'm sorry about Monday. I was in a bitchy mood, but I had no right to take it out on you. I apologise."

For the first time that day, I looked up, taking Bella in. Her luscious chestnut waves were pulled back away from her face, but a single lock had fallen from its clip, dangling by her left eye. My fingers itched to tuck it behind her ear. I found myself lost in her deep chocolate orbs, and she looked right back at me. It was probably only a second or two that I sat, staring at her, but it felt like minutes. Hours even.

"It's ok," I murmured, blushing again.

"No, it's not," she sighed, "You're going through a hard enough time as it is. You didn't need me being horrible too."

Oh yeah. She was Charlie's daughter. Of course she knew the reason I had moved to Forks. I felt a bit of anger rise inside me. Bella would most probably tell all of her sheep, and the gossip would spread around the entire school. I didn't want that. As though she could read my mind, she spoke again.

"It was Tanya that told me about your parents," she said quietly, "Things like that spread fast in a town like Forks."

I said nothing, but nodded slightly as Mr. Banner started the lesson. He handed out a load of sheets, and told Bella to use her textbook as she'd been off school. There were a few minutes of silence in the classroom, save for the sound of pens scratching on paper, and then quiet chatter broke out.

"I don't know how much you know about me Edward," Bella said with a sigh, "But Jasper and co. have probably told you that I've been a shitty friend for the past-"

"Language Bella!" Mr. Banner barked out. Bella winced next to me and apologised quietly. I noticed that nobody laughed when she was embarrassed. Yeah, I was bitter.

"Anyway, you know that I haven't been the best friend to those I cared for. Hell, I still do care for them. Do you know about the party that changed me?"

"Yes," I said quietly, "Carlisle told me. So did Jasper."

"Yeah, well that was the heart of all the trouble. Anyway, what I'm trying to say, is I'm not exactly a great person, but I'm a good listener. If you need to talk..." she trailed off, glancing at me. I turned to face her, not feeling as nervous as I had ten minutes ago.

"I don't believe that," I said.

"Gee, thanks," she replied with a roll of her eyes.

I blushed.

"That's not what I meant. I don't believe that you're a bad person."

She looked taken aback, but it was true. Bella was related to Alice and Charlie, so she had to have some good genes. And according to Alice, the old Bella was still in there somewhere. I, myself had been witness to Bella defend Angela on Monday morning in the parking lot. She couldn't be all bad. She'd just made a few too many mistakes.

"Right," she said, laughing humourlessly.

"I mean it," I said, avoiding her gaze. I knew I'd make a fool out of myself if I looked at her.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Believe it or not, Jasper talks more about the old you than the new you, so to speak. And apparently you get along well enough in history. You defended Angela in the parking lot on Monday," I said.

"You saw that?"

"Yes. And you stopped Victoria harassing me. You aren't a bad person Bella."

"So how did I end up like this?" she asked, raising one eyebrow. Sweet Lord she had that look perfected...

"Mistakes. Everyone makes them."

"Nobody else has ended up like me."

"Maybe not. Maybe you made too many decisions while drunk. It's easy to do."

"But I didn't try to reverse them."

"Ok, you've made a lot of mistakes, but that doesn't automatically rule out the good things you do."

Bella said nothing. Perhaps I'd gone too far. We hardly knew each other, after all, and I was dissecting her life, effectively. I blushed twelve shades of scarlet and looked down at my sheet, scribbling down the answer to the next question. I was worried that I'd offended Bella, as she didn't say anything for several minutes.

"One day," she said, almost inaudibly, "I might gain the courage to do something about this mess."

I was unable to reply to Bella, as the bell rang and she stood up, leaving quickly. She did, however, throw a small smile over her shoulder at me. I blushed again, and walked out to gym, slowly. Perhaps, just perhaps, Bella and I could form the kind of friendly truce she had with Jasper. Because I had to admit, I liked Bella Swan.

The real Bella was the kind of person I wanted to be friends with. I could see as clear as day who Bella Swan was, but it seemed to be neither the old her or the new her. Apparently, I was the only one who did know who Bella was, including herself and her old friends. Maybe I could help her.

***

**A/N**

**So, we're starting to get somewhere! I'm going to be honest, 'Ice Angel' probably won't be a very long book, which is why it's moving quickly. We're getting somewhere with regards to turning Bitch-Bella into normal Bella, and we've got somewhere with regards to the relationship between Edward and Bella. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'm sorry it was shorter than usual.**

**Lucy xX**


	5. Chapter 5-Perhaps I'm Changing

Bella's POV

After our first biology lesson together, I pulled a few sick days. Honestly, there was something about Edward Cullen that bothered me, and I couldn't put my finger on it. But it bothered me more than anything else. I felt awkward around him, as though he was testing me all the time. I didn't like it one bit.

Charlie had become tired of having me at home, and had shoved me back to school on the Friday. All through my journey to school, I'd been hoping that Edward wasn't in school. Needless to say, my hopes were pointless. Almost the second I pulled into the parking lot, I spotted his shiny silver Volvo.

My girls had been lost without me, it seemed, which was more than a little bit depressing. My lessons passed slowly, almost painfully, but I managed to avoid any real kind of drama. Victoria seemed to have ceased her shit, which relieved me no end. Tanya too seemed far more comfortable.

When the lunch bell rang, I headed to biology with some reluctance, Jessica and Victoria in tow. They were discussing some pointless-sounding movie that was coming out that weekend. I was invited along. I didn't want to waste three hours of my life watching some terrible movie, but I agreed anyway. It wouldn't do for me to spend my weekend locked in my room with a few books. What kind of image would that portray?

_Yeah._

I sat down at my desk quietly, bidding Jessica and Victoria goodbye. It was just a minutely two later that Edward walked into the classroom. His eyes rested on me, and something like panic flashed across his face. He began to walk towards me, when he tripped over somebody's bag. Not even thinking about what I was doing, I stood up slightly and grabbed his arm, preventing him smashing his face into my desk.

He looked up at me, mortified, and mumbled a 'thank you'. There was a moment of silence, before I spoke.

"Edward? Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he muttered, "Thanks."

"Ignore them," I said, referring to our jeering classmates, "They have yet to grow their second brain cell. It must be hard."

I smiled at him, and he blushed again.

"Look, I- I'm sorry about Monday. I was in a bitchy mood, but I had no right to take it out on you. I apologise."

"It's ok," he murmured, blushing a deeper shade of scarlet. The guy was far too shy. It was almost funny. I still felt horrible about Monday, and I didn't really think that I deserved his apology.

"No, it's not," I sighed, "You're going through a hard enough time as it is. You didn't need me being horrible too."

Mr. Banner started the lesson a few moments later, after Edward and I had exchanged a few more words. As the chatter broke out amongst the classroom, we too began to talk quietly. I wasn't entirely sure why, but we ended up talking about my mistakes, and my tendency to be a shitty person. I told Edward, feeling rather embarrassed as I spoke, that I was quite a good listener. Edward went on to say that he didn't believe I was a bad person, which threw me entirely off-guard.

In what way was I not a bad person? I'd hurt my old friends when I pushed them away, I hadn't bothered to try and fix my mistakes, I'd gotten myself more detentions than anyone else in the school during my freshman year, save for Jacob. Hell, I'd been a complete bitch to Edward. I had no idea what had planted the idea in his head that I wasn't a bad person.

"Right," I said, laughing humourlessly.

"I mean it."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" I asked with a little snort.

"Believe it or not, Jasper talks more about the old you than the new you, so to speak. And apparently you get along well enough in history. You defended Angela in the parking lot on Monday," he said, his voice very quiet.

That was news to me. I hadn't thought for a second that Jasper would talk about me, the old me. I hadn't even considered the possibility that I would be a topic of conversation between Edward and Jasper, who, according to my sister, had become fast friends. It made my heart ache a little. I missed my old friends, but I really didn't have a clue what to do about it. I was in a mess.

And Edward had seen me defend Angela in the parking lot? That too surprised me.

"You saw that?" I asked at last, pulling myself back to the present.

"Yes. And you stopped Victoria harassing me. You aren't a bad person Bella."

"So how did I end up like this?" I asked. I knew the answer to that question, but I wanted to know how my change fitted into his theory. Honestly, how could a good person end up like I did?

"Mistakes. Everyone makes them."

"Nobody else has ended up like me."

"Maybe not. Maybe you made too many decisions while drunk. It's easy to do."

"But I didn't try to reverse them."

"Ok, you've made a lot of mistakes, but that doesn't automatically rule out the good things you do."

I said nothing for a few minutes, letting everything he'd said sink in. It was true, some of it. I did defend people that were picked on, and I never participated in the wild, vile schemes of my new friends. But I'd pushed people away, I'd made no effort to change myself back to who I was, and I'd behaved badly.

And why were we having this conversation at all? Edward hardly knew me, and yet, he seemed to care enough to try and make me feel better. Perhaps it was a favour for Jasper or Alice. Or perhaps he was just having a joke, and making me look like a fool. But that didn't seem like something Edward would do. Then again, what did I know about him?

"One day," I said, almost inaudibly, "I might gain the courage to do something about this mess."

I didn't really want to see Edward's reaction to what I'd said, so I stood up quickly as the bell rang, throwing my stuff into my bag as I went. Tyler walked up to me, and began a load of shameless attempts at flirting. Usually, I'd play along, tease him to hell until he was panting at the thought of going on a date with me, and then turn him down. However, for whatever reason, his flirting merely served to piss me off.

"Get lost Tyler. I'm not going on a date with you," I snapped. He looked surprised, and a little hurt, but I couldn't find it in myself to care. I was so very close to murdering somebody it was untrue. Anger had welled up inside me, and Tyler would be on the receiving end unless he disappeared.

Deciding I'd rather not get a detention for hitting him, I sped up and hurried to my last lesson of the week. Angela was already sitting in her seat, canvas out, so I sat down beside her, as I had done on the Monday. She threw me a small smile, which I returned, and we talked quietly as the lesson began. Though there were still things that needed sorting out between us, it was nice to talk to Angela again.

***

I awoke the following Saturday to the irritating ringing of my cell phone. Groaning loudly, I sat up in bed and snatched to off of the counter. I didn't bother to look at the caller ID, figuring if it was some idiot trying to sell me something I could give them a piece of my rather annoyed mind and hang up.

"Hello?" I asked groggily.

"Bella! How are you?" asked the voice of my mother. Fan-fucking-tastic. I really didn't want to talk to her at that moment in time. She was probably just phoning to be a bitch and announce that she was marrying some guy. She'd had drug-addicts, alcoholics, lazy idiots, twits... The list went on.

"Just fucking great," I said, my voice ringing with sarcasm, "Why are you playing nice with me?"

It was well-known that my mother hated me, and quite frankly I hated her too. She'd made no effort to take any interest in my life, and had missed Alice and I growing up. Alice was far more forgiving than I was, and she spoke to Renee upon occasion, but I would never voluntarily waste time speaking to her.

"Don't use that tone with me Bella," she said, her voice cold, "I am your mother."

"Really? I'd never know."

Renee sniffed from the other end of the line, causing me to roll my eyes. I didn't need another lecture about why she left Charlie and us, and why I was an ungrateful swine. Ok, she never actually called me that, but the intent was the same. As I said, she hated me, and I hated her.

"I'm marrying Phil next month. I thought you'd like to come to the wedding."

I snorted. Oh yeah. Phil Dwyer, minor league baseball player. How could I forget? Mom had found herself a new boy-toy that was about twenty-five. They'd be divorced within a year or so. And why did she think I'd want to attend her wedding? I'd refused to come to any of her others, so why would this be any different? I said as much to Renee.

"You could at least pretend you're happy for me. I've found the man I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Right. We both know you'll be divorced before I start my senior year."

"Don't be so selfish Bella. Do you not want me to be happy?"

"I don't really give a damn. Just like you don't give a damn about my happiness. And seriously mother," I said, feeling sarcastic again, "How old is this guy? Sixteen?"

"He's twenty-three."

_Oh holy freaking hell._ That was even worse than I'd originally thought. This Phil guy really was more suited to be my husband than Renee's. I wondered if she'd told Charlie... She probably hadn't. Charlie hadn't had any contact with my mother over the past five years except when handing the phone over to myself or Alice.

"Bella?" my mother asked, snapping me back to the present.

"What?" I snapped.

"Are you coming to the wedding?"

"Definitely not. Anything else to rant about or can I get on with my life?"

The line went dead after I'd spoken, causing me to sigh. Honestly, my mother was something else entirely. A complete bitch, for one thing. Then again, I was a bitch too. Perhaps I was more like Renee than I realised. I shuddered at the thought. No matter what, I would never be like my mother. I'd rather die.

I glanced at the clock and saw that it had gone half eight. With another sigh, I rolled out of bed and began to get dressed. Having showered quickly, I walked downstairs to find Alice and Jasper both sitting at the kitchen table, talking quietly. They looked up when I walked in, and I threw them a small smile.

"I'm just eating, you can go back to kissing in a few minutes," I said, joking a little.

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Did you just voluntarily joke with us?"

A sheepish look crossed my face. Perhaps I was changing into whoever I really was without trying. Maybe that was the best way to go. After all, I never usually spoke to my old friends unless I had to, much less joke around with them. Hm.

"Yeah, I did. But I'm serious. No kissing. I'm trying to eat."

"Right," Jasper snorted, "Like we don't have to watch you and Jacob eat each others' faces at parties and every single morning."

"We didn't kiss yesterday," I said with a shrug.

The light conversation continued back and forth as I ate, and Alice told me that Charlie had gone fishing. What a surprise. When Jasper asked me if I was doing anything, I groaned and told them that I was going to see some God-awful film with the girls. Jasper snickered.

"Gee, thanks for being so sympathetic."

"No, Alice is dragging us all along to the same film."

"Hey!" Alice said, hitting Jasper's arm lightly, "I'm dragging Edward along too!"

I couldn't hold back my snort. Honestly, my sister was a demon. She'd not only managed to drag her boyfriend along to this film, but her friends too. And some guy she had only known for a week. You had to give her credit - nobody else I knew could have managed that.

"When are you going?" I asked.

"This afternoon. Half three."

"We're going this morning, and then the girls are going shopping. I'm not, needless to say," I replied.

"Good," Alice said, "Because you're going to Angela's for lunch."

"What?" I spluttered.

"Oh don't be so dramatic Bella," my sister said, rolling her eyes, "You two need to talk. Angela isn't as forgiving as we are. I know you're on the verge of a major change, but you need to convince her."

I agreed to go, but I was still somewhat skeptical. I still needed to convince myself that I was on the verge of a major change. Alice seemed convinced that I was about to turn back into the sister she'd once known - shy, a bit nerdy, bookworm, playful, etc - but I wasn't sure that that was who I was. If I thought about it too much, I was going to give myself a brain haemorrhage.

We lost track of the as we talked casually, and soon a car pulled up in our driveway and honked three times. I bid Alice and Jasper goodbye, and they grinned at me. Rolling my eyes, I picked up my bag and walked out to Tanya's car. I immediately noticed Lauren's and Jane's absence, and mentioned it as I claimed into the front passenger seat by Tanya.

"Lauren is banned from this car, remember? And Jane is in Seattle with her parents. We are going to the Port Angeles theatre aren't we?" Tanya asked. I replied with the affirmative, and tried not to laugh at the memory of the last time Lauren had been in Tanya's car.

Tanya had given us a lift to the party last summer in which Victoria had spiked the punch, and the party was in full swing. Tanya had walked out to her car with us to grab her handbag, and she saw Lauren on the backseat with Mike Newton, in a rather compromising position.

Ie, Lauren was being the filthy slut she was.

Needless to say, Tanya had been revolted, and had ended up refusing to drive Lauren anywhere ever again. Lauren was never allowed to set foot in Tanya's car after that. According to Jessica, Tanya had spent several hours scrubbing the inside of her car, to 'rid it of Lauren's filth'. I was in stitches when Jessica told me about that.

The four of us chatted with relative ease through most of the journey, although Victoria seemed a little miserable and sulky, and we were soon pulling up outside the Port Angeles cinema. Handing Jessica the money to buy our tickets, we went to grab some snacks and a soda.

Jessica returned a moment later, and we headed into the cinema. Victoria insisted that we sit at the very front, which was a pain in the ass as we had to constantly crane our necks to see the screen. However, keeping Victoria in a normal, human mood was one of my priorities.

The movie started, and I groaned. The opening scene was some half-naked woman, straddling a guy wearing a batman-like suit. Honestly. I sighed and watched the film, trying not to think about all the things I could have been doing with those two and a half hours.

The lights came up after what felt like an eternity, and Tanya and Jessica immediately started discussing the film in great detail, analysing every move the leading female had made. It was the most pathetic romance movie I'd ever seen, and the action scenes could have come from the sixties. What a waste of time.

***

Tanya dropped me back home after another hour or so, and I headed back into the house. Nobody was in, so I just fixed my hair and checked my phone. Angela had sent me a text for the first time in several years, telling me that I could come over any time after twelve. Checking the clock, I saw that it had gone twelve already, so I picked up my keys and headed out to my truck. I climbed in and keyed the engine, before driving the all-too-familiar route to the Webbers' house.

I rang the bell once, and waited for somebody to answer to door. Angela opened it, and threw me a small smile. I returned it, and she motioned me inside. I followed her, and she walked up the stairs to her room in silence. We hadn't exchanged a word yet, and I assumed that it was because her mom or dad was still in the house.

We sat down on the floor of her room, and I curled my legs underneath myself. There was an awkward silence.

"How are you?" Angela asked at last.

"Confused, tired, fed-up. The list goes on. You?"

Angela laughed a little.

"Impatient."

"What for?"

"You. I've been waiting for the day you tried to fix your mistake for... Well, since you made it. And it seems that after a little push from Edward and your sister, that day is about to arrive."

"Everyone keeps saying that, but I don't know who I am anymore," I said.

"You've told me that. Edward was around earlier, with Emmett and Rose, and he told me about your conversation on Friday," Angela said, her voice soft, "He wants to help you."

Edward wanted to help me? What the hell? We'd met what? Twice? Three times if the conversation by our lockers on Monday counted, and yet he wanted to help me? Why? My brain tried to make sense of it all, but couldn't. There was absolutely no reason fro Edward to want to help me. At all.

"Why?" I asked at last, "All I've been to him is a bitch."

"Not yesterday. Edward can see that you aren't a bad person, and he wants to know and befriend the person he can see underneath your mistakes. I'll be honest, he's the only person that seems to know who you are."

"Who am I then?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure you're my best friend, you're Alice's best sister, you're Emmett's playmate, you're Jasper's friend, your Rose's friend, you're Ben's little sister... The list goes on. You may have changed Bella, but we still care about you," Angela said, her voice soft.

To be honest, I hardly noticed the majority of the list. I was far too caught up in the first thing Angela had listed. 'You're my best friend'... Did she mean that? Or was it just a slip of the tongue, so to speak? There was silence in the room as we looked at each other, and I was pretty sure my jaw had dropped open. Angela raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You said-"

"I mean it."

With those three words, a grin spread across my face, and I let out a squeak worthy of my sister, before wrapping her into a hug. Angela laughed and patted my back. We moved away from each other after a few seconds, and spoke for a few minutes more. I was warned that if I did decide to hang around wi my old friends again, Rose wouldn't be as forgiving as everyone else. I told Angela that I could deal with that, if only I was given the chance.

I meant every word I said.


	6. Chapter 6-Friends I Think

**A/N**

**Just a brief notice about Edward's timetable. Not being a US resident, I had no idea about which subjects were required through all years at high school. Somebody pointed out to me that Edward needed to have an English class, so I've switched over History (which he has with Angela) to an English class. **

**Lucy xX**

***

Edward's POV

My weekend passed quickly, and with relative ease. I spent the Saturday hanging out with my new group of friends, and then Alice dragged us all along to some God-awful movie in the afternoon. The boys headed back to Angela's place for an hour or so, and then Jasper offered to drive me home.

Sunday, I did my remaining assignments, and spent some time with my aunt and uncle. Carlisle and Esme were awesome, and I felt welcome in their home. Carlisle reminded me of my father a little, though he definitely hadn't inherited my father's temper. I spent my Sunday evening mulling around in my room, feeling miserable because I had yet to hear from any of my old friends in Phoenix, despite my numerous emails and texts to them. Obviously, they didn't give a damn about me.

So nice.

Monday morning dawned bright and early. Well, actually, it wasn't bright at all, as the rain was hammering down upon the roof of the house and woke me up an hour before I needed to rouse myself from my warm, peaceful slumber. Damn the rain. Groaning, I pulled myself out of bed and dressed, before heading downstairs for one of Esme's delectable breakfasts. I still hadn't worked out why they needed such a big house for two people. Well, three now.

By the time I pulled into the parking lot, I was already drenched, having slipped while getting into my car and fallen into a nice, deep puddle. My jeans were soaked through from the knee downwards, and the insistent rain wasn't helping matters. Rain didn't help the uncoordinated at all.

Jasper waved to me from next to his pixie-like girlfriend, and I wished I'd thought to bring an umbrella as I left the shelter of my nice, hot Volvo. Alice beamed at me, seeming far too excited for two reasons. Firstly, it was too early, and secondly, it was luring with damn rain. Rose snickered at my scowl, and I saw that shed had the initiative to bring an umbrella. Presumably to protect her perfectly styled hair.

"Seriously Edward, get used to it," Rose said, still snickering at me, "It's Forks. It rains for, like, three-hundred-and-sixty days of the year."

"I didn't want to move to Forks," I grumbled.

Jasper chortled and patted my shoulder.

"Bella feels exactly the same about rain. She hates anything wet and cold, and she grew up here."

"Really?"

Jasper nodded. Huh. So Bella didn't like the rain either? That was interesting. I stored that little piece of seemingly-pointless information away in the back of my mind. It may come in handy one day, I thought as I glared up at the sky, which was still spurting down great fat raindrops.

"Let's get inside Arizona," Emmett said, shoving me in the direction of a warm, dry building. I was nearly salivating at the thought of being dry...

I reached my locker, after arranging to meet my friends at lunch, and saw a bedraggled, grumpy-looking Bella putting her stuff away, and pulling out books. We exchanged a slight grimace, and then Bella laughed. Her laugh sent shivers down my spine, and I had no idea why. Well, obviously I was just cold.

"Don't like rain hm?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"Definitely not."

"Tough luck Edward. It rains all the time here. Almost."

"Yeah, Rose gave me that lecture a moment ago."

Bella laughed again.

"I hate the rain too. I was such a klutz as a child that rain almost always ended with a trip to the ER. Ask Carlisle about it. He spent a day every week stitching me up."

It was my turn to laugh. Carlisle had told me a few stories about Bella's trips to his department the previous day, and they'd kept me entertained for a couple of hours. We bid each other goodbye, and I was suddenly surprised at the conversation we'd just had. It hadn't been too awful at all. We'd gone from exchanging a couple of words, maximum, to a full-out conversation, with laughter.

_Yay us._

My good mood (well, good considering the relentless rain) was quickly ruined when I realised I had a whole hour of calc ahead of me, with Tanya drilling holes in the back of my head. Well, at least Tanya didn't assault me as soon as I set foot in the God-damned classroom, unlike a certain red-head I knew...

Jasper joined me on my trek to the calc classroom, and we talked about inane topics for a few minutes. I glanced up when Tanya entered the classroom, and she shot me a dirty glare. I had no idea why. What the hell had I done to upset her? Perhaps she thought my talking to Bella was a crime. It wouldn't have surprised me at all, considering her head was clearly filled with sawdust.

The teacher walked in, and we immediately began on some ridiculously difficult equations (or whatever the hell they were actually called) from the textbook. The teacher was the kind that didn't actually teach, but just told you to turn to a page, and learn for yourself. And if you got them wrong, you were obviously not listening to the no seconds of teaching. Yeah. Eye roll.

_3) Oil is poured on a flat surface, and it spreads out forming a circle._  
_ The area of this circle is increasing at a constant rate of 5 cm2/s._  
_ At what rate, in cm/s, is the radius of the circle increasing when the radius is 5 cm?_

What the hell? Who on God's green Earth would ever need to use that in real life? And when would oil ever spread out in a perfect circle? It had to be one of the stupidest calculus questions I'd ever come across, and I'd come across some pretty dumb one. Sighing, I scribbled on a scrap piece of paper to work it out, and wrote down my answer.

The bell rang at long, long last, and I let out a sigh of relief as I snapped my book shut. I was incredibly thankful that we weren't given any homework. I'd have died if we did. Perhaps Emmett would help tutor me for calc, as apparently he was good at math. Unlike I was. I sucked at it.

Tanya threw me another dirty glare on her way out, and flicked her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder. I threw Jasper a confused look, but he just shrugged at me. Apparently he didn't have a clue either. The fact comforted me a little as I headed to my next lesson, Spanish. Alice met me outside the door, and we headed in. I was incredibly surprised to see that Jessica and Lauren were also throwing me filthy glares. I'd always thought that Jessica was ok, but apparently not.

"What have I done?" I asked Alice quietly as we took our seats.

"No idea," she replied, "But I'm sure we'll find out at lunch."

As she so often was, Alice was right in her assumption. After my English lesson with Angela, we headed to lunch. Angela told me of Bella's visit, and of their conversation. I had to admit, I was surprised Angela, who had known me for just a week, wanted to tell me any of that. It wasn't really any of my business. I'd obviously spoken something out loud, for Angela shook her head.

"It is your business Edward. We've been making it your business for the past week, as has Bella. Whether or not she realises it is a different matter e-"

Angela was stopped speaking suddenly, and her jaw dropped open. I raised my eyebrows slightly, and shot her a slightly concerned look. She paid me no attention, so I followed her gaze to the middle of the canteen. The dangerously slick, high-pitched voice reached me before I laid eyes on whoever was emitting those sounds.

Victoria stood in the middle of the lunch-hall, Bella's followers and other students of Forks High - both male and female - surrounding her, listening to her every word with rapt attention. It took a moment for my ears to tune in to what it was she was saying, and when I did, I was pretty sure I looked as shocked as Angela did.

"Yes," she screeched (that was the only way to put it), "I caught Edward Cullen after school on Friday. Of course, he's got a terrible taste in friends, what with Swan and Cheney. And then Webber too," I felt Angela stiffen beside me, but Victoria wasn't finished, "But we can't deny that he's hot."

That was news to me, but I wasn't going to interrupt Victoria while she was in the middle of extreme-bitch mode.

"Anyway, so I got him alone after school, and we chatted for a bit. Then I asked him on a date, and Edward said yes. According to him, he's wanted to go out with me from day one."

I turned to Jasper, who had come to stand next to me, aghast.

"We've never spoken except for her assault in biology," I said, truthfully. I would never except a date with, ugh, Victoria. Shudder.

"I believe you Edward. Victoria's delusional, clearly."

"You didn't even speak to her?" asked an angry voice from behind me. I turned around to see Bella Swan looking at Victoria spurt more of her lies, her entire body trembling a little. I shook my head, and Bella turned slightly red with anger. I did not want to be Victoria at that moment. Not at all. I wasn't sure why Bella was quite so angry about the whole fiasco, but hey, I wasn't going to complain if she set the bitch straight.

"Victoria!" Bella snapped, stalking forwards, "A word?"

"What?" Victoria sneered.

"Unless you want embarrassing, come with me."

Damn, Bella was one scary woman when she got cross. I couldn't stop the slight smile that tugged at the corners of my lips for a moment, despite how inappropriate it was at that point in time. However, it would be entertaining to watch Bella put Victoria in her place.

"Spit it out Swan," Victoria said, the sneer still in place.

Bella narrowed her eyes at Victoria, and the two women stood a mere foot away from each other, at exactly the same height. Bella, however, looked absolutely terrifying, yet Victoria looked slightly scared. You could see her nerves if you looked into her eyes, despite the confident face she put on.

"Swan, huh?" Bella asked, her voice cold, and her eyes icy, "You know Victoria, I never particularly liked you, I always knew you were a bitch, but I'd never realised you were stupid as well. Because let's face it, you're challenging me, and nobody, nobody, challenges me and survives."

"Oh Bella, you-"

"Yeah yeah yeah. 'You've got no idea what I'm capable of. You'll be down by next week'. I've heard it all before Victoria, and it's all shit. You are fucking terrified of me. I can see you trembling in your stilettos. Which, by the way, are just begging for you to get yourself raped by some fucking bastard when you come out of some fancy restaurant at midnight tonight, having fucked three guys in a row."

"Sw-"

"I don't care what you've got to say. We both know you're a slut, and we both know you're a fucking coward. And there are several people other than you and I, that know you never approached Edward on Friday, and you didn't arrange to go on a date. If you believ all her shit," Bella said, turning to the onlookers, "You're an idiot. Edward's a decent guy, and he would never, ever, go out with a bitchy slut like you," Bella spat.

"Wh-"

"Listen here Victoria," Bella said, lowering her voice and making it all the more menacing, "I've had enough of this. I've had enough of you. I'd like nothing more than to kick your ass and break the heels off of your 'shoes', but I should give you a little warning."

Bella's eyes flashed dangerously, and if I'd liked her, I'd have been worried for Victoria's safety. As it was, I could easily see the terror in her eyes. Bella looked like an angel, standing there with the sleeves on her jade shirt pulled up to just below her elbows, her slim-fitting jeans and gorgeous brown boots. Her heavenly chestnut hair, and her incredible, chocolate orbs, which were icy. Her whole demeour was icy.

_An icy angel._

_Ice Angel._

"I rule this place, and you don't. I can, and I will make your life an absolute misery, and I won't feel even slightly bad. You deserve everything you're going to get Victoria, believe me. I have yet to decide exactly how much of a punishment you deserve. Consider this your only warning," Bella hissed.

Glaring at Victoria (I was scared from where I stood), Bella turned around and made her way over to Jessica, who was standing beside Rose and Emmett. There was silence in the lunch-hall for a second or two, before a shrill scream pierced the air. It was like I saw everything in slow-motion.

My eyes snapped back to Victoria, who had taken a step forwards and was lunging at Bella. I looked over to Bella, who was just turning round, and then back to Victoria, who had her hands raised. She was going for Bella's throat. Sub-consciously, I took a step forwards. As though I was going to help at all. Bella faced Victoria and grabbed her hands, throwing her to the side with ease.

"That's another thing Victoria. Make sure you can beat your opponent before you attack them. You can't fight to save your pathetic little life."

There was a little hoot from the side of the room, and I saw Jacob Black, Bella's boyfriend, standing beside Lauren. Bella shot him a glare, though this was considerably less scary that what she'd been giving Victoria. Jacob wrapped Bella in a hug, but his gaze was locked with Lauren's.

There was something going on with Jacob, I could tell. For starters, Bella and Jacob never seemed to hang out at school. And then Jacob seemed suddenly friendly with Lauren, of all people. But what confused me most, as I followed Alice to sit down at a table, was Jacob's facial expression. It was impossible to describe. It made me suspicious, but I wasn't sure what I was suspicious of.

"At least we know why Bella's sheep were glaring at you," Alice said, wrinkling her nose at the vile-looking pasta she'd picked up.

"What? Why?" I asked, confused.

"It's obvious. They were jealous because Victoria asked you out, and you said yes. Except you didn't do any of that."

I stared at Alice.

"How on Earth did you work that out?" I asked.

"I've got a bit of a sixth sense. It tells me things," she said, shrugging.

"Why would they be jealous?"

Angela rolled her eyes at me, but Rose answered.

"Because Edward, believe it or not, you're one of the best-looking guys in the school, and they're sluts."

Ok then.

I looked down at my own meal, which was supposed to be some form of curry. I was struggling to locate any meat, and I definitely hadn't been served any rice - just a pile of gooy muck. I picked at my food a bit, and choked at the taste. Emmett grinned at me, and began telling me stories of the most disastrous food at Forks High. I was revolted.

After we'd each shared our most revolting meals (mine was my mother's utterly failed attempt at sushi), we settled down into a calmer conversation about the terrible film we'd seen on the Saturday. I was saved from having to discuss it much by the bell. I picked up my bags and tossed my junk into the bin. I bid my friends goodbye, and headed to biology.

I spotted Victoria walking about twenty paces ahead of me, talking to Lauren. I kept my distance from them, and was glad when Lauren disappeared to her own class. Jessica was nowhere to be seen, although she was in the canteen, so she was in school. Bella, presumably, was behind me somewhere, but I didn't look round for her. After all, we weren't friends.

I had no idea at all why that thought bothered me so much.

I pushed open the door to the biology classroom and took my seat, pulling out my stuff and waiting for the lesson to start. I didn't noticed Bella walk in, and didn't realise she was in the classroom until the unmistakable scent of strawberries wafted up my nose. I turned to her, and we shared a small smile.

"Thank you for setting Victoria straight," I said, "I didn't want to be classed as Victoria's boyfriend."

Bella snorted.

"No problem. I wouldn't want you to be either. I can't imagine anything worse than spending hours with that bitch. I think I need to correct something I once said to you Edward."

"What?"

"Victoria is always that bitchy."

I smiled again, remembering Bella's slight defence of Victoria during our very first biology lesson. It seemed like months ago, but it was, in reality, just a week ago. I'd gained both friends and enemies since then, and I felt like I actually fitted in, for once in my life. I'd never fitted in in Phoenix.

"So I gathered," I replied, just as Mr. Banner walked in and started the lesson.

For once, biology passed pretty quickly. Bella and I kept up a steady, casual stream of conversation as we worked, and I found myself enjoying her company. I didn't realise until after the lesson that Bella didn't seem anything like the Bella I'd first met. But I liked the Bella that was revealed to me.

The bell rang, and we bid one another goodbye.

"Wait, Edward!" Bella called, just as I turned away to go to gym.

"Yeah?"

"Give me your phone," she said, holding out her hand. Frowning, I walked the three steps back over to her and handed her my phone. I didn't realise what she was doing until she handed it back to me, and I saw a new contact gracing the screen. Bella Swan. She'd given me her number. I smiled.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Text me yours, I have to go!"

"I will. Bye Bella."

"Bye Edward!"

I smiled all the way to the gym, and hardly noticed the strange look I was given by Jane as I entered it. Bella Swan hd given me her phone number. Did that mean we were friends? Or, at least, that we were friendly? I'd take either. I liked Bella Swan, I admitted to myself, and I wanted to know her.

My excitement about my new contact was interrupted by Mike. He sneered at me, and I shot him a glare. Obviously, he didn't get the hint, as he wandered up to me and started talking about Victoria and I. I tuned most of it out, but I didn't like the bits I did hear. Not one bit.

"So Cullen, I've heard you moved here because your parents died," he said.

I ground my teeth together, trying my best not to hit him. It wouldn't do me any good, though it would probably make me feel a bit better. I would not react to his words about my parents.

My resolve nearly crumbled when he continued, taunting me about them. What a freaking bastard. I didn't use swear-words to describe people very often, but Mike's insults were driving me over the edge. I changed quickly, and Mike shut up for a moment. I slipped away before I heard any more.

We were doing badminton that week, and my team-mate, Tyler, soon learnt to keep well away from me. This was after I'd hit him over the head with the badminton racket, and hit the shuttle-cock towards the game to our left. What can I say? Badminton is not for the uncoordinated. Sports in general are not for the uncoordinated.

Eventually, Coach Clapp blew his whistle and we were freed from the pit of hell. I showered and changed quickly, and then headed towards my locker in the main building. Unfortunately, Mike caught up with me, and murmured insults about my parents in my ear. Again, I tried to ignore him.

"You know," Mike whispered, "Perhaps if your mother had been competent, you-"

"Mike!" snapped a beautiful, angry voice.

"What?" Mike asked, his tone changing to 'seductive'. Ugh. Obviously, the voice belonged to Bella.

"Edward is trying to be decent and not knock your head off, but you're trying his patience. What's he done to you? Honestly, I had no idea you could be so cowardly. To stoop to insulting him like that... It's just revolting. Now get lost," she snapped, shaking her head.

Muttering, Mike moved away from me. I hated to be perceived as weak, especially in front of the Queen Bee, but Mike's insults against my parents had hit a nerve. I felt tears spring to my eyes, and I turned away from Bella, not trusting my voice enough to thank her.

I reached my locker, forgetting that Bella's was next to mine, and ran my hand over my face. I exchanged my books, and made to leave, when I felt a small hand on my arm. I looked up to see Bella, watching me carefully. Her eyes were soft with concern, and it seemed like she actually cared. Why she would, I didn't know.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine, thank you," I replied.

"Obviously, that's a lie. He just insulted your parents, your mother especially. Dick-head."

I laughed a little, and said goodbye to Bella. I realised, with a start, that Bella had made me feel both ten times happier, and ten time calmer, with a few words, and a gentle, sub-conscious touch.


	7. Chapter 7-Boyfriend Troubles

**A/N**

**Well hello there! Incredibly, I'm updating this story. Yeah yeah, I know it's been an age, but I had other things to finish, and other obligations in that awful thing called real life. The plan was to update last Sunday, but I was too now on, I'm going to try an update this once a week, on a Sunday. I'll send out a message if this changes, I promise!**

**I've skipped over a lot of what's happened over the last few weeks in Bella's life, but rest assured, Edward will go into a bit more detail in the next chapter. It's the kind of thing I'd rather write about from his point of view. I hope you understand, and I'm hoping to get chapter 8 out tomorrow!**

**Enjoy this one, and I'll 'see' you tomorrow for another update, I hope!**

**Lucy xX**

Three weeks later - exactly one month after Edward joined Forks High - I scowled at my phone and threw it down on the bed, letting out a huff of frustration. Jacob had been avoiding me for over a week, and I wanted to sort his ass out. While I didn't expect him to spend all of his time with me, and I certainly didn't want him going all obsessive and clingy, I didn't appreciate him acting like we weren't in a relationship at all.

Feeling annoyed, I flung open my bedroom door and stomped down the stairs, just in time to see my sister and Jasper kissing by the microwave. Ugh. Gross. I let out a cough of protest, and they jumped apart, looking sheepish. Well, Jasper looked sheepish, Alice just looked amused.

"Not in the kitchen," I said. "If Dad came and saw you like that he'd be very unimpressed."

"It's a Saturday Bells, cut us a bit of slack," Alice said.

I rolled my eyes at her and grabbed some food from the fridge and made myself a coffee. I'd been spending a lot more time with my sister and my old friends, though I had yet to spend any time alone with Rose. I suspected that she'd have something to say when she did, but Alice had told her not to say anything. Apparently. Her first words to me when we went to the movies together were 'sorted your ass out?'.

So Rosalie Hale.

"Any luck with Jacob?" Jasper asked, removing his hands from my sister.

"No. Why d'you think I'm so irritable?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because you've got those bitches hanging over you all day?" Alice suggested. I assumed she was referring to Tanya and co.

"Whatever," was my genius reply.

"Are you doing anything today?" she asked.

"No," I replied shortly.

"Yes you are," Jasper said. "You're getting yourself down to La Push to straighten Jacob out. He can't treat you like this."

"He's never exactly been boyfriend of the year."

"Neither am I," Jasper said.

"Yes you are," Alice said, grinning.

"Whatever you think darlin'," Jasper said in his native Texan drawl. His family had moved up to Forks from Texas when he was five, and he still had a bit of an accent. It was more obvious when he said things like 'darling', and Alice thought it was incredibly cute. She would.

"Anyway," I stressed.

"Anyway," Jasper repeated. "You're going down to see Jacob, like it or not."

"Uh uh," I said.

"Uh huh," Jasper countered, smiling a little.

"Fine!" I cried, throwing my hands up. I knew I wouldn't win that fight, so there was very little point in having it. I checked my watch, and was surprised to see how early it was. Jasper wasn't usually here that early, and Charlie wasn't usually out at that hour. "What the hell are you doing here at this time Jazz?" I asked.

"Coming to make sure you got down to La Push."

"Right."

Like that made any sense at all.

Just over two hours later, I was pulling up in the Blacks' driveway. The rain was hammering down, and I was sure I looked like a bedraggled cat. I'd only put a little make-up on that morning, but I'd left my raincoat at home, so my shirt was soaked through. I stalked up to their front door, glaring at the grey skies, and rang the doorbell.

I waited for a couple of minutes, before ringing it again... And again... And again. Letting out a slight snarl, I leant my shoulder against the bell, hoping to irritate the hell out of the Blacks. I knew they were home, as their car was in the driveway, and their lights were all on.

After me standing in the rain for over ten minutes, the floor was yanked open by Billy, who was sitting in his wheelchair, wearing a sunhat. I'd always thought Billy was mad, though he was a decent guy. I smiled slightly, though it felt forced, and he return my smile with his own strained one.

"Hello Bella. I wasn't expecting you," he said.

"Is Jacob home? He hasn't been answering my calls," I said.

"No, he's not here."

"Where is he?"

"Out with some friends. I'm sorry you wasted gas. I'd offer you a coffee but I'm a little busy. Goodbye Bella," he said, making to shut the door. Oh hell no. I knew Jacob was home. Billy always had been a bad liar, and he'd fiddle with his zip when he was lying, as he was doing now. I wedged my foot in between the door and its frame, preventing him from closing the door.

"I know he's home Billy. I need to talk to him."

"I said, he's o-"

"Bull," I snapped, getting irritated. "I don't know what game you two are playing, but I have a right to speak to my boyfriend."

"Bella," Billy sighed.

Billy began to speak, but I wasn't really listening. Returning from the garage, where Jacob often worked on his mechanical projects, was the idiotic guy himself. It was hard to avoid someone in Forks, but he'd done a damned good job, even in school. Face murderous, I walked over to him, forgetting the rain.

"Jacob!" I called out.

He didn't turn to look at me.

"Jacob!"

He didn't seem to hear me, so I placed a hand on his arm as I caught up with him and yanked him round to face me. At last he looked at me, and something flickered in his eyes. He looked mildly upset, but not surprised at seeing me at his house on a Saturday. In an emotionless voice, he told me we could talk in the garage.

A couple of minutes later I was seated on a make-shift chair, trying not to rip Jacob's head off. He was making it exceedingly difficult though. He tapped his fingers against his black, shiny motorbike, making me increasingly annoyed. There was silence between us for a few moments, before we both broke it at the same time.

"Bella-"

"Jacob-"

"Go on," Jacob said.

"Why have you been ignoring me all week? I've been calling you and calling you, and you never pick up, or call me back. You've done a good job of avoiding me at school too."

Jacob sighed.

"Bella, before I say anything, I want you to know that while I haven't exactly been a great boyfriend to you, I do care for you. You know that right?"

"I do," I said. "I care about you too, which is why not only am I pissed as fucking hell, I'm worried about you. But I'm more pissed than worried."

A hint of a smile passed over Jacob's face.

"About three weeks ago, a couple of days before that Victoria shit at lunch, I was talking to Leah. You know, Leah Clearwater?"

"I know her."

"Well she started crying about something, a-"

"Leah cried? Leah?"

Leah Clearwater was the strongest girl I knew. I'd never heard, seen, or known her to cry about anything. Her long-term boyfriend had broken up with her a few months previously, and had gotten together with her cousin, but that didn't worry her either. Leah was one tough cookie. Hearing about her cry surprised me more than a little. It surprised me a fucking lot.

"Yes. Anyway, I ended up kissing her."

I froze in place, but didn't say anything. Jacob had kissed another girl. I hoped to hell that he only kissed her, and didn't make out with her or anything. If he had... But more than that, he'd kept it from me for weeks. He hadn't even mentioned spending any time with Leah. This news only made me more pissed, and even more worried.

"I wasn't intending to kiss her, but I just did. Nothing else happened, I promise. Anyway, Lauren saw us kiss, how I don't know, and black-mailed me with the information she had. Threatened to tell you if I didn't do this that and the other, blah blah blah. Then last weekend, she tried to get me in bed. I didn't, but I was consumed by guilt, and avoided you all week. I've been thinking about our relationship a lot."

"Ok," I said slowly, feeling numb.

"And I think we should break up."

"What?"

"Us. It doesn't really work, does it? We're friends, or we were, but we're not lovers."

"So you're breaking up with me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry Bella. It's not good for either of us."

"Fine," I said coldly, standing up. "Break up with me. At least you can go fuck whoever you like now," I said, my voice cruel. I knew, really, that Jacob wasn't like that, but I was angry. He'd avoided me for a week, and then decided to end it. I had no idea why I was quite so angry though. I felt like I wanted to slap the guy silly. I'd always had a flammable temper.

Jacob looked horrified.

"I'm not breaking up with so that I can-"

"You can go fuck Lauren, with her massive boobs and her blond hair, and then ditch her on the corner of a street," I said, sneering at Jacob. I tended to lash out and become vile when I was angry. It was one of my many flaws, and one I needed to work on most. My sister was patient with me when I was like that, but Jacob just shook his head at me, disgusted.

"Get out," he said.

With those words, I fled from the garage and ran back towards my truck, trying not to slip over on the muddy ground. I opened the door with fumbling fingers and slammed it hard, before throwing the car into reverse and backing out of their place. I wanted to get as far away from Jacob as I could, as fast as I could.

It wasn't until I passed the 'Welcome to Forks' sign that the tears began to fall, blurring my vision. The rain eased off slightly, but I found myself sobbing as I drove. I didn't cry. I hated crying, and I hated other people seeing me cry even more. My sister saw me cry upon occasion, but even that I hated. I hadn't cried like I was then since I was a little girl.

I had no idea why Jacob breaking up with me had made me so upset. Perhaps it was just because it made me feel vulnerable, illogically, or perhaps it was because I liked Jacob more than I was admitting to myself. But I didn't. I had always been friends with Jacob, ever since I was a child, but he was right. We weren't lovers. So why was I so upset? Perhaps it was because he did, technically, cheat on me. Maybe it was because he didn't tell me, or because Lauren, of all people, knew before I did.

I just felt utterly betrayed.

Knowing I was endangering both myself and others while driving in that state, I pulled over onto the side of the road, and allowed myself to cry. Nobody ever came along that road, so I was able to cry without anybody seeing me. Perhaps part of my grief was all of what had happened over the last few years, finally hitting me. I didn't know why I was so upset, but I knew that all my emotions had piled together in a split second.

I was snapped from my thoughts when I heard the rumble of a car coming the other way, wheels slapping against the wet road. I looked up slightly, to see a silver Volvo that was far too familiar. It belonged to Edward. We'd established a friendship over the last few weeks, and, admittedly, I liked Edward.

I didn't want him to see me cry though. Hoping that he hadn't seen my face, I wiped my sleeve over it and turned my head the other way, pretending to look at something. I held my breath a little as he passed my truck, and let out a sigh of relief when he passed, not so much as waving to me.

My relief was short-lived.

I heard him pull over not far behind my car, and then the engine turn off. I dared not look up, and ducked my head down a little. I heard his car door shut and then his soft footfalls as he neared my truck. He tapped gently on the window, and I felt my face flush with embarrassment.

"Bella!" he called out. I glanced sideways, just for a moment, and was surprised by how concerned he looked. Clearly, he had seen my face when he passed me in his car. I rolled down my window and twisted my face into a glare, trying to look scary. I was too upset to have much effect though.

"Go away Edward," I said, my voice quivering slightly from where I'd been weeping.

"What's the matter?" he asked, ignoring me.

"I said go away."

"Bella," Edward sighed. "I can't leave you on the side of the road like this. At least let me drive you home."

"I'm fine," I snapped, turning to face him properly for the first time.

"No, you're not," he said firmly.

"Ok, I'm not fine," I said angrily. "But I don't want your help. It's none of your business."

"Maybe not," he said with a shrug. "But I am your friend, and friends are meant to help each other. At least, I thought I was your friend."

"You are my friend," I said quietly.

"Then let me help you," Edward said softly.

I sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to win. Edward could be incredibly persuasive when he wanted to be, something which served him well, being friends with my sister, who was a force to be reckoned with. It also meant that I couldn't ignore him now. Biting down on my lower lip and not looking at him, I nodded.

"Do you want me to drive you back home?" he asked gently. Again, I nodded. I knew it wasn't really safe for me to drive when I was in that kind of mood, and I didn't really want to be in an accident and have another trip to the ER. I'd had enough of those as a child to last me a lifetime.

Feeling self-conscious, I clicked the door open and followed Edward back to his car in silence, trying not to think about Jacob and begin crying again. That wouldn't be particularly helpful. Edward began to drive back, and we sat in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't that beautiful silence between two lovers.

We reached my house not long afterwards, as Edward drove rather fast. Edward opened my door for me - a rather old-fashioned gesture which I hadn't been expecting - and walked me to the door. He told me that Alice and Jasper had decided to go out to Seattle for the day. I nodded, and unlocked the door.

"Bye then Bella," Edward said, looking torn about something.

"Don't go," I said softly, surprising myself.

"What?"

"Don't go," I repeated. "Please."

"Ok," Edward said, slowly and hesitantly.

I had no idea why, but I wanted to talk to Edward about what had happened, and about Jacob. I trusted Edward like I trusted the rest of my friends, which was incredible, really, as I'd known him for just a month. We walked into the house, and sat down on the sofa in the living room.

After a second of silence, I began to tell Edward everything. From all of my feelings about my old friends and my new friends, to what ad happened with Jacob today. I even spoke about how much I hated people seeing me cry, and how much I hated crying, even just on my own.

Then I did just that, and cried.

The only person I'd cried in front of in the past decade was my sister, and even that was a rare occurrence, and one which I disliked. I didn't like Edward seeing me cry either, at first. I turned my head away from him and buried my head in my hands, as though trying to hide my tears. Like that would help.

And then Edward surprised me again. I suddenly felt two strong, warm arms wrap themselves around me, and hug me to him. I found myself sobbing into Edward's chest, my salty tears drenching his shirt. He shushed me gently, and rocked us slightly, in an unbelievably comforting manner.

Eventually, my tears ceased, and I began to pull away from Edward, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled upon seeing the damp cloth of his shirt when my face had been buried in it.

"It's fine," he said. "It's only a shirt."

"I don't like people seeing me cry," I said quietly.

"You said that earlier," Edward replied, moving some of my damp hair away from my face.

"And then I cried. That's not me, Edward. I don't cry about things like this."

"It's perfectly understandable. Your boyfriend has just broken up with you after several years, and your emotions were all over the place anyway. You've been questioning your life for weeks, and your last sense of normality has disappeared. I'd probably be upset too," he said, his voice neither sharp nor patronising.

"When did you become so charismatic?" I asked, rubbing a hand across my face again to wipe away remaining moisture.

Edward laughed a little.

"Me? Charismatic? Please. I'm ridiculously uncool and uncoordinated, I'm certainly not popular, and I'm socially awkward," he said.

"You don't have any trouble talking to me."

"I did at first," he said, looking away from me. "You and the others. I always do, at first."

"That's called being shy, Edward, not socially awkward."

"Whatever. I'm shy then."

"Nothing wrong with being shy," I said, shrugging, all thoughts of Jacob pushed right to the back of my mind.

"Debatable."

"I used to be pretty shy," I said. "I'd blush all the time."

"And yet you were dating Jacob Black?" Edward asked, frowning.

"I was drunk," I said, shrugging.

"Bella, what exactly happened at this party that changed you?"


	8. Chapter 8-The Full Story

**A/N**

**How many of you have read Stephanie Meyer's draft of 'Midnight Sun'? If you don't know, it's Twilight, the first book, written from Edward's point of view. But it was leaked over the Internet, and never finished. If you have read it, have you not wished, so many times, to finish reading it? Well I've found a decent substitute. Ms Meyer has not finished it, but somebody else has, and then gone on to write all four books in Edward's point of view. If you're interested, message me and I'll send you the link.**

**I should just warn you that several chapters of 'Breaking Dawn: Edward' are rated NC-17, though the basic story is suitable for younger readers. However, as the author has pointed out, much of the original book is rather graphic with regards to Bella's pregnancy. There is far more on her website to discover, and far more in the world of Twilight to read - much written from our wonderful Edward's point of view! **

**Happy reading my fellow Twilight addicts, and I should probably say that I hope you enjoy this chapter of Ice Angel! Anybody else super-excited for NaNoWriMo?**

**Lucy xX**

Edward's POV

I was surprised by the ease in which I settled in to the world of Forks, and the terrors of high school. Though I often found myself brooding over my parents' deaths, feeling rather emotional about it, Carlisle and Esme were great as parents, and I loved them as much as I'd once loved my own. It was incredible, how they took such an interest in my life. Both Carlisle and Esme found time in their lives to talk to me in more depth, and to make sure I was faring well. I appreciated it a lot.

Of course, I needed more than fantastic guardians in my life to make it happy. And I had that. I had a fantastic set of friends, that accepted me with ease. I found myself confiding in Alice and Jasper - the latter in particular - more than I'd ever confided in any of my friends in Phoenix, even those I'd known since kindergarten. I still had yet to hear back from any friends, and I'd given up wasting time on them.

My relationship with Jasper and his friends was positive, and we got on well, though I had next to nothing in common with Ben. But the group weren't the only people that I found myself involved in. Bella Swan had become part of my life, without myself or her realising it.

The first time I realised that we were friends, really, was three days after the incident with Victoria in the lunch hall. Emmett and Jasper were debating something which was of no interest to me, and I found my eyes wandering over to where Bella was sitting with her sheep. It seemed that the only person that noticed the direction in which I was looking was Alice, for which I was thankful. Even she said nothing.

It was clear to me, from where I sat, that Bella and Lauren were arguing over something. The latter looked triumphant, and the former looked furious. Bella shook her head at Lauren, her eyes terrifyingly cold. Neither looked away from the other, until Bella stood up quickly, and stalked out of the lunch hall.

I wondered, for a while, what on Earth had upset her so much. Clearly, it was something to do with Lauren, but since when did Lauren hold such power over the Queen Bee? I had very little time to ponder the subject much, however, as Alice nudged me just as Ben joined in the debate.

"Go," she said, nodding to the door.

"What?"

"Go after her."

"Go after who?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Bella, you idiot. Talk to her."

"Why me?"

"Stop asking questions and go. Sixth sense, remember?"

"Right."

I stood up quietly and exited the canteen, feeling very much like I was being controlled by Alice. Why would she want me to talk to her sister? Me, of all people? I'd known Bella for, what? Less than two weeks? What was the point in me talking to her? She'd probably just tell me to go away.

It didn't take me long to find her, in a school that size. I spotted her form pacing around outside, on the grassy bank to one side of the parking lot. She had earbuds in, and was chewing on her lower lip. I watched as she twisted sharply through one hundred and eighty degrees, and paced back the other way.

Fighting back my embarrassment, I pushed open the heavy glass door and stepped outside. I glanced up at the grey skies and winced. It'd be raining before the day was out. Not that there was any cause for surprise. It was only a surprise if it didn't rain in the town of Forks.

"Bella!" I called out softly.

Bella's head snapped towards mine, and she yanked out her earbuds.

"Hi Edward," she said, her voice slightly tense. "Can I assume that Alice sent you out here?"

"Uh, yes," I said, feeling incredibly stupid.

"Why does that not surprise me?" She sighed. "Have you had any more shit from Victoria?"

"No," I said, squirming slightly where I stood, a few feet away from her. "What did Lauren do to upset you? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"No, it's fine Edward. She was just provoking me. It was my own fault. I shouldn't have let what she said get to me, but I realised that I was about to blow up, so I came out here to cool off."

I wondered what Lauren had been talking about, but Bella supplied the information before I could ask.

"She was going on and on about you. Apparently-" She rolled her eyes. "She overheard you mentioning to Jasper that you were going to ask me to prom. Then she said that she was sure I was willing to cheat on Jacob to comply with your wishes. Obviously, none of that was true."

None of it was true. But it was then, as I spoke to Bella and comforted her a little, that I realised that actually, I did like Bella. Not only as a friend. Of course, there was no way I'd tell her that - she was still dating Jacob - but it was a little piece of information that I tucked away in my brain for a later date. I had a bit of a crush on Bella Swan, and perhaps nothing would come of it; but maybe something would.

From that day forth, Bella spent much, much more time with myself and her old friends.

Incredibly, it was less than three weeks later that the chance to make something of my slight crush appeared. Esme had sent me to pick up some parcel or other from her friend, who lived in some random house on the side of the road that lead towards La Push. It was while travelling back that I passed Bella's red truck, stopped at the side of the road. At first, I thought nothing of it, until I realised that she appeared to be crying.

Deciding that something needed to be done - after all, she was my friend - I stopped my car behind hers, and turned off the engine. Feeling only mildly embarrassed, I stepped out of my car and made my way over to hers. I tapped gently on the window, and I saw Bella's cheeks heat up.

"Bella!" I called out. She glanced sideways, just for a moment. I threw her a concerned look, and waited. She rolled down her window and twisted her face into a glare, trying to look scary, I presumed. It didn't really work, probably as her face was slightly blotched with tears and damp.

"Go away Edward."

"What's the matter?" I asked, ignoring her.

"I said go away," she snapped.

"Bella," I sighed. "I can't leave you on the side of the road like this. At least let me drive you home."

"I'm fine," she said, turning to face me properly for the first time.

"No, you're not," I countered firmly.

"Ok, I'm not fine," she replied angrily. "But I don't want your help. It's none of your business."

"Maybe not," I said with a shrug. "But I am your friend, and friends are meant to help each other. At least, I thought I was your friend."

"You are my friend," she said quietly.

"Then let me help you," I whispered softly.

She sighed. She knew that she wouldn't win an argument like this. I could be pretty persuasive when I wanted to be, which served me well with regards to her pixie sister, who was a force to be reckoned with at the best of times. Biting down on her lower lip and not looking at me, Bella nodded.

"Do you want me to drive you back home?" I asked. Again, Bella nodded.

Bella clicked open the door of her truck and allowed me to close it for her. We walked towards my own car, and I decided that I'd drive her truck back to her house after I'd dropped her off. I hoped that she'd allow me to stay and make sure she was ok, but knowing Bella, I doubted she would accept my help.

We reached my house not long afterwards, as I drove rather fast. I opened Bella's door for her - a rather old-fashioned gesture which my mother had bestowed on me when I first began mingling with girls - and walked Bella to the door. I mentioned that Alice and Jasper had decided to go out to Seattle for the day. Bella nodded, and unlocked the door.

"Bye then Bella," I said. I wanted so much to suggest my staying for a few minutes, if only to make her a cup of tea or coffee while she settled herself, but I was afraid that she'd be offended by my suggestion. Bella seemed to catch something on my face, as something in her own expression shifted.

"Don't go," she said softly, surprising me. She wanted me to stay? What?

"What?" I repeated out loud.

"Don't go," she said. "Please."

"Ok," I replied, slowly and hesitantly.

Bella opened the door fully and walked in, myself following in her wake. She sat down on the sofa heavily, and I say down beside her, making sure to keep a little space between us. I could feel the heat rolling off of her skin, and I felt something stir in my chest. Perhaps my crush was more serious that I'd thought.

I pushed away the thoughts. Bella didn't need me thinking like that.

After a second of silence, she began to tell me everything. From all of her feelings about her old friends and my new friends, to what had happened with Jacob that day. She even spoke about how much she hated people seeing her cry, and how much she hated crying, even just on her own. I was appalled by Jacob's behaviour. How he could have treated anybody like that was beyond me, but I kept my opinions to myself and just listened to her.

Then, without warning, Bella burst into years.

After what she'd just told me about how she hated crying, I had no idea what to do. No idea at all. For a few moments, I just sat there, wondering how to comfort her. She turned her head away from me, and buried her head in her small hands, as though trying to hide her tears from me. It was that movement that snapped me into action. I didn't want Bella to hide her feelings and her true self from me. Ever.

I surprised myself slightly, and, without realising what I was really doing, I wrapped my arms around her middle gently and hugged her to my chest. for a split second, she froze, and I worried that I had overstepped a boundary, but then she buried her face in my shirt and cried. Gently, I shushed her, trying to calm her with my voice as well as my actions, and rocked us slowly.

Eventually, her tears ceased, and she began to pull away from me, appearing embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, looking at the damp cloth of my shirt.

"It's fine," I said. "It's only a shirt."

"I don't like people seeing me cry," she said quietly.

"You said that earlier," I replied, moving some of her damp hair away from her face. I was unable to resist, but I made sure not to touch her bare skin.

"And then I cried. That's not me, Edward. I don't cry about things like this."

"It's perfectly understandable. Your boyfriend has just broken up with you after several years, and your emotions were all over the place anyway. You've been questioning your life for weeks, and your last sense of normality has disappeared. I'd probably be upset too," I said, perfectly honest.

"When did you become so charismatic?" she asked, rubbing a hand across her face again to wipe away remaining moisture.

I laughed a little, without humour. She had to be joking, right? Me? Charismatic? No. Jasper, now her was charismatic. He was sensitive to other people's feelings, and he was good at calming people down and the like. But I ended up making other people uncomfortable, and myself look stupid.

"Me? Charismatic? Please. I'm ridiculously uncool and uncoordinated, I'm certainly not popular, and I'm socially awkward," I said.

"You don't have any trouble talking to me."

"I did at first," I said, looking away from her. "You and the others. I always do, at first."

"That's called being shy, Edward, not socially awkward."

"Whatever. I'm shy then."

"Nothing wrong with being shy."

"Debatable."

"I used to be pretty shy," she confessed. "I'd blush all the time."

"And yet you were dating Jacob Black?" I asked, frowning.

"I was drunk," she said, shrugging. Ah yes. The party,

"Bella, what exactly happened at this party that changed you?"

For a few seconds, Bella said nothing, but averted her eyes and bit her lower lip. I looked down at my clasped hands, worrying that I'd offended her. I was never really sure what I could and couldn't do and say around Bella. I was never entirely sure where I stood with her. I hoped that I'd gain a few answers while I sat in her living room.

"You've heard the basic story, haven't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I-"

"No," she said, interrupting me. "You have a right to know what happened."

There was silence for a moment.

"It was the result of a lot of mistakes, all at the wrong time," she began. "I didn't go to parties - I hated them. People spiked the punch, got drunk, and got busted by my Dad. Who, in my position, would like parties? It was only after a lot of persuasion from Alice that I agreed to go. Dad was out of town that weekend, so I hoped that if the party was busted by the police, he wouldn't hear about it.

"Angela and Ben didn't go, rightly so. The five of us headed in, and I was immediately hit by the vile stench of alcohol. Rose dragged Emmett off to the dance floor, and they began to dance. Alice did the same to Jasper, and I was left on my own. I was shy, awkward Bella Swan. I didn't have a boyfriend to take me.

"Alice offered me some of the punch, and against my better judgement, I drank what she gave me. It was spiked, and I found myself drinking more and more before I realised, by which time I was already drunk. Due to the alcohol, I sauntered onto the dance floor and attracted the attention of Jacob Black.

"Even then, he was the school's bad-boy, but I'd known him as a child. I found myself dancing with him, in a rather intimate manner. Eventually, my senses took over, and I made my departure. The alcohol had worn off a little by then, and I begged Alice to let me leave, but she was adamant that we stay. Perhaps she was a bit drunk too. I don't know. Anyway, we stayed.

"Jacob approached me again, and I was drinking more of the spiked punch while I spoke to him. He asked me to dance again, and I complied with his request. At about midnight, Rose and Emmett left, still sober, and tried to take me with them. I refused to go. Illogically, I was enjoying myself. I had the attention of Jacob, and I felt wanted. I was a bit insecure before that party, and Jacob's attention to me, against all of those other blond girls, made me feel better.

"Towards the end of the evening, when I was completely and utterly stoned, Jacob asked me to be his girl. He didn't even ask me out on a date, he just asked me to be his girlfriend. While feeling incredibly giddy with drinks and pleasure at his request, I nodded. I'd gone from plain Bella, to girlfriend of the bad-boy.

"The following day was a Saturday, and I woke up, remembering the previous evening. At first I was horrified, and then I thought that perhaps it was what I needed to boost my confidence and self-esteem. So I went along with it. Big mistake. Jacob phoned me up, and we spent the day at First Beach, down in La Push. I enjoyed it.

"The popular girls at school started to notice me, and it was Tanya that really made me into what I am today. She walked to class with me one day, to Rose's distaste, and suggested hanging out at the weekend. I accepted her offer, and she gave me a complete make-over. Not only did that day change my appearance and dress-sense, but it changed my attitude. Suddenly, without really realising it, I'd become a bad-girl.

"After my make-over, people began to pay me more attention, boys and girls alike. I started to hang around with Tanya and her friends, and gradually spent less time with my old circle of friends. I became a true member of those girls, and before I knew it, boys were flirting with me, trying to gain my affections.

"I spoke to Jacob about it once, and he laughed. He said it was pretty hot to watch your girl flirt with other boys, only to turn them down. So what did I do? I began to play with boys. You've seen me with Mike. It was great fun, and Jacob didn't mind one bit. I'd left my old life behind, and I was the Queen Bee of Forks High. I loved life.

"It wasn't until the end of last year that I began to question what I really wanted. Yes, I loved what I had, but it was a way to pass time, until the thing I really wanted came along. I began to think a lot. Eventually, I began to centre my thoughts on Jacob, and whether or not there was any point in dating him. Despite what others might think, I do want to settle down in life with the man I love, and a load of kids.

"Eventually, I decided that Jacob was not my perfect guy. Far from it. But I didn't break up with him, because I couldn't see my perfect guy. I did begin to change my ways this year though, because my perfect guy would never fall for this me. He'd fall for the old me. But, I don't think I can be the old me any more. I'm not that person now. I've come out of my shell, and I'm more confident in who I am. The only problem is I have no idea who that is.

"So I decided to gradually start spending more time with my sister, and my old friends. It wasn't as gradual as I thought it would be. But although Jacob breaking up with me could free me up to be myself, I still don't know who I am. I've been thinking about it a lot. And, though I feel utterly betrayed, Jacob is growing up a little, and he's thinking more about his life in the future, just as I am. His actions are a good thing, in many ways. But I feel like in order to go on, I need to know who I am.

"So you see Edward," Bella said, smiling ruefully. "It wasn't all to do with the party. That was where it all began, but there were many more mistakes I made which I can't blame on alcohol or adrenaline, and there were many times I could have fixed the mess before I got out of hand. But I didn't. And now I've confused and upset myself. I don't even know who I am."

Bella laughed bitterly, and I took a few seconds to think about all she'd said before I spoke.

"I do."

"You do what?" she asked.

"I do know who you are," I said quietly.

"Who's that?"

"I think that's something you should work or for yourself. But I like who you are Bella. Don't try to be somebody you're not."

"Charisma again," Bella said, smiling slightly.

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever."

"So you don't think I've made a complete mess of my life?" she asked, her tone light but her eyes showing me that she was serious about this question.

"I didn't say that. You have made a mess of things, but this is the time to make mistakes, and the time to fix them. If you fix this one properly, I think something good will come of it."

And I really did. Bella had made mistakes, and in doing so had shown a side of her personality which had been hidden away for her entire life. She'd grown more confident in herself, and had shown others that she had power and gusto, and that she could be both the quiet, shy girl she once was - the one Jasper spoke so fondly of - and the strong, confident woman I'd come to know, and like.

How could anything but good come from that?

Especially if she merged the two.

Bella had gone from one extreme to the other, and I believed that she was both and neither of those people.

Bella and I continued to chat for an hour or so, before the front door opened loudly, startling us both. I heard a gentle chuckle and a high-pitched laugh come from the doorway, and I guessed that Alice and Jasper were making their return. I was right. The couple walked into the living room, several shopping bags in hand. Both looked surprised to see me.

"Hello Edward," Jasper said.

"Hi Jasper," I replied, feeling, stupidly, like I was somewhere I shouldn't have been.

"You ok Bella?" he asked.

"I am now," she said with a slight smile in my direction, which made my chest stir again.

Alice raised an eyebrow at her sister, and so Bella recounted, briefly, the events of the past few hours. She explained about what had happened with Jacob - without crying this time - and about me finding her and taking her home. Alice and Jasper both threw me grateful glances, which I wasn't sure I deserved. Anyone would have done the same, surely?

"I will kill him," Alice said.

"Who?" Bella asked.

"Jacob."

"Don't bother. Good may come of it," Bella said, looking at me again. We exchanged smiles, which didn't go unnoticed by Jasper, who hid his own smile. What with sixth-sense-Alice and feeling-feelings-Jasper I felt like I had no privacy at all. Maybe Bella felt that way all of the time...

"Guess what!" Alice said, suddenly excited.

"Do I want to know?" Bella asked with a slight groan.

"No," Jasper said.

"Victoria is arranging a party at a disco in Seattle! It'll be great fun!" Alice squealed.

"Not if it's organised by Victoria," I said.

"Silly boy," Alice said. "It's still going to be great. Victoria throws great parties."

"Who's definition of great?"

"Mine," she said.

"Do I have to go?" I asked.

"Yes," Alice said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

With a resigned sigh, I gave in.

"I'm not going, Alice," Bella said firmly. "I hate parties."

"I'll have somebody watch the punch Bella. I'll have a hand in this you know."

Bella looked at me, sighed, groaned, and agreed to go.

"Yay!" Alice squeaked.

The next hour was spent discussing the party. My thoughts, though, were on other things. Specifically, Bella things. Bella had confided in me, had allowed me to comfort her, to touch her, and had cried in front of me. That was clearly something that was head for her. She'd said that she felt crying in front of somebody was like giving that somebody a piece of power they could use over you. Did I have power over Bella?

It didn't matter, I decided, whether I did or didn't. I would never use something like that to upset or manipulate anybody, least of all Bella. Not only would my ass me handed to me, but Bella would murder me, metaphorically speaking. And, of course, it would be mad of me to hurt Bella, as she was a friend, somebody I liked, trusted, and appreciated, and I had more than a bit of a crush on her.

**A/N**

**So, we're finally getting somewhere, no? Bella is changing, Edward is changing, and a crush has formed on one end of the party. We also have a wonderful party to look forward to. I promise you drama, and maybe a little bit of loving! Between who, I will not say, for the moment. What did you think of Bella's trust in Edward? Of Edward's actions? What do you think the future holds for these two? **

**'See' you next weekend!**

**Lucy xX**


	9. Chapter 9-So Not Romantic

**A/N**

**I'm sorry that I haven't updated for a while (actually, how long is it?!), but I'm rectifying that problem right now. Enjoy this chapter!**

**Lucy xX**

Bella's POV

Parties really weren't my thing. I'd never enjoyed Alice dragging me out to them, and before my 'transformation', I'd kept to myself and sat in a corner with Angela for the majority of the time. The only party I'd been to and enjoyed was the one in which I'd become drunk as hell and been asked out by Jacob. I regretted that one the following morning though.

So as you can imagine, Alice telling me that we were going to a party which was being thrown by Victoria - Victoria of all people - I was not particularly happy. I was suspicious about who would be attending, and whether or not it would get out of control. Once upon a time, Charlie had tried to ban Alice and I from going to parties, but he soon realised that we didn't get drunk. At least, not deliberately. He gave up trying after a few years.

In some ways, I wished, exactly a week after Jacob had broken up with me, that Charlie would burst through the door just before Alice dragged me out and forbid us to go. There was no doubt that I'd run into Victoria at some point, and I'd probably get to see Lauren all over some random guy. She was like that at parties.

The Monday in which I returned to school was filled with lies and rumours. Most of these centred around my and Jacob's break up; had he broken up with me, or vice versa? What exactly had passed between us? What did Lauren have to do with it? Of course, the ever-inventive students of Forks High came up with there own answers to these questions. I heard that Jacob had broken up with me because he caught me kissing a girl, and Lauren spilled the beans. Alice heard that Jacob and Lauren had sex and then the latter blackmailed me about it.

Snort.

Needless to say, the amount of time I spent with my sister and co. increased dramatically that week. Tanya, Jessica and I spent more time with each other, blatantly ignoring Lauren and Victoria. Of course, while the girls that worshiped the very ground I walked on still fought for prime position, they too formed their own theories about what had passed between Jacob and I the previous Saturday.

But there was another rumour flying round the school that ruffled me far more than all the unbelievable shit they came up with about Jacob. They began to attack Edward. There were rumours that we were in a secret relationship, and rumours that it was Edward that had broken us up. It seemed that somebody had spotted Edward leaving my house that weekend, and of course this sparked even more crap.

But the rumours did plant a thought in my head. The first morning I'd ever seen Edward Cullen, I had realised that Tanya was absolutely right. He was fuck-hot. I hadn't really given it much more thought once I got to know Edward, and I found that he was the kind of person I could easily trust and befriend, and he was the kind of person I liked. But the rumours brought the thought back to the front of my mind.

Edward was hot. There was no doubt about it. His curly auburn hair was always desperately dishevelled, and each lock was incredibly silky-looking. I wondered, once, what it would feel like. His deep, emerald eyes would be easy to get lost in, and were exceedingly good at searching one's expression. His cheekbones were high, his lips smooth and full, and his skin looked soft and was ever so lightly tanned. It was certainly more tanned than my own, which was nearly vampire-white.

And after dissecting Edward's appearance, I realised something else, which surprised me more than a little bit. Edward fitted, in many ways, the descriptions of my dream guy. He liked me. I didn't act like the ice-cold bitch I was now known for around Edward - I acted like me. I still wasn't really sure who that was, but Edward seemed to.

With that thought, a crush was formed.

So on a Saturday afternoon in October, I sat in front of Alice's dresser, Rose and Angela both in the room and I was 'beautified'. I let out a sigh as Alice insisted on doing my make-up, and Angela shot me a sly grin. It shocked me slightly. It was the kind of expression Angela and I would often exchange as younger teenagers, but I hadn't been thrown a look like that for years.

Huh.

"Are you just going to stand there staring at Bella or are you going to do my hair?" Rose asked Angela.

I rolled my eyes as Rose sat down and Angela began working on her hair. Not that it needed any work. Rose's hair was always perfect, no matter what had been done to it. Much like Edward's was always hopeless, no matter what was done to it. The thought made me flush slightly, but thankfully, none of the girls seemed to notice. Or if they did, they didn't comment on it.

After a few more minutes, Alice was finished with my hair and make-up, and we switched places. Alice didn't require much make-up at all, but she always wanted it. It was with a little disdain that I applied foundation and blusher to her cheeks, and various pots of creams to other areas of her face. There was little I could do with Alice's hair, being cropped quite short, so I allowed her to do her own thing with it.

"Ok then, dresses!" Alice called, seeming far too enthusiastic.

I let out a sigh as my pixie sister picked up the four dresses laid out on her bed and handed them around. I took my own when it was thrust towards me, and was relieved to see that Alice hadn't taken it upon herself to buy something for me with her money. It was a dress I'd bought a couple of years previously, to go to another of Victoria's parties.

The dress was soft, and ice-blue in colour. It fell to a few inches below my knee, and most certainly didn't have a plunging neck-line. It was held up by two cross straps which came up from the bodice of the dress, and had a collection on little 'diamonds' sewn into the left hip, spreading out slightly towards the right hip, scattered a little across the waist.

I stepped into the dress, not wanting to ruin my carefully-done hair, and asked Angela to zip it up. I dug out a pair of strappy, silver heels that I'd bought about a year beforehand. They were low, and enabled me to gain an inch on my not-so-short figure, but prevented me from falling over if I were to have one of my uncoordinated moments.

I turned around, and realised, with a start, that Alice and Angela had disappeared. Rose was watching me through slightly narrowed eyes, and I bit my lip. It was the first time Rose and I had been on our own together since my freshman year, and I was mildly concerned about what she was going to say, or do.

"That dress looks good," she said, hands resting on her hips.

"You don't look bad yourself," I said truthfully with a slight smile. Rose sighed.

"Look, Bella, I'm not going to have a go at you. I think you've been stupid, and a bitch, but you're fixing it. And you're changing for the better this time."

We exchanged small smiles, and sealed our silent truce. We then headed downstairs, to where I assumed Alice and Angela were. I was correct. We had decided, collectively, to all ride in Emmett's Jeep. I assumed that Edward would be coming with the other guys, and I found myself smiling slightly at the thought. Gosh, what was wrong with me? I was getting excited just thinking about seeing the man!

Emmett pulled up a moment later, and we all headed out. Rose, of course, climbed into the front to sit next to her guy, and Alice climbed in next to Jasper. Angela sat behind Ben, and ruffled his hair as she got in. Ben was about six inches shorter than Angela, and she had fun teasing him about it. This left one seat left for myself, which was right beside Edward. The backseat was squashed, with two teenage girls and a guy sitting on it, and my thigh was pressed against Edward's. I hoped he didn't see how much it affected me. Hell, I didn't really want to believe it affected me at all, but I'd be kidding myself if I said it didn't.

I was quiet on the journey to Victoria's house - which was incredibly large, even larger than the Cullen house. I felt both relief and disappointment when Emmett pulled up in Victoria's driveway, and all conversation ceased. Relief, as I could get away from Edward, and cool myself down in the fresh air; and then disappointment, because however much I wanted to deny it, sitting beside Edward like that was... nice.

We climbed out of the Jeep, and Edward stumbled slightly on the uneven ground we'd parked on. I reached out an arm to steady him, and ignored the slight tingle I felt in my fingertips as I touched his arm. God, I sounded like one of those gorgeous heroines in the romance books I read.

"Thanks," Edward said, blushing in the cool night air. I shot him a smile in return, and followed the other couples into the house. Victoria greeted us upon arrival, and shot me a cold glare as she welcomed my sister and my friends. She turned to Edward and threw him a flirtatious smile which made me want to hit her. I felt strangely possessive of Edward, and I didn't like it.

"Bella!" called a familiar voice from where a huge crowd of teenagers danced around in Victoria's living room. I searched the students for a few seconds until my eyes landed on the owner of the voice. Tanya. I shot her and Jessica a smile, and began to weave my way towards them. As I greeted them, I realised that while the cheerleaders of Forks could be shallow and pathetic, they were familiar to me. Tanya had turned me into what I was, and Jessica and I had always had some kind of tentative truce. The pair was consistent.

"Is it true?" Jessica asked, grinning.

"Is what true?"

"That you and Edward are a thing."

"No," I said with a laugh. "Definitely not."

Tanya flashed me a wicked smirk.

"Does he still class as fuck-hot?" she asked.

"Of course. Hello? Major sex-hair," I said, accepting the cup of punch Jessica shoved into my hands. Alice said she'd have somebody watch the punch, so I had no doubt that it was free from alcohol. At least, for the moment. Later, I'd have to be more careful though. I took a sip, and was pleased to see that it appeared not to have been spiked. Yet.

"Well don't look now," Tanya said. "But he's staring at you."

I giggled, though actually, knowing that Edward Cullen was staring at me made me shiver, and not because of the cold. Perhaps I'd ask him out eventually... But then again, I didn't like that idea much. I liked Edward, and, stupid as it sounded, I wanted him to ask me out, not vice versa. That was what happened in all of my romance books.

Jessica, Tanya and I laughed and joked around for a while, not paying much attention to anybody else, until Jane came up to us slowly, and joined in our conversation. I never really understood Jane. She could go from incredibly quiet and reserved, to full-out, cruel bitch in a split second. Her mood swings were known to give me a distinct sense of whiplash.

"Who are you here with Jess?" I asked, knowing that my friend always had a boy with her at a party. Technically.

"Nobody," she said, her expression darkening.

"What?" the rest of us spluttered.

"Exactly what I said. I wanted to ask Mike, but I heard him being a fucking bastard towards Edward on Wednesday. Digging at his mother, insulting his father... Honestly, he's not worth my time any more."

I clapped Jessica on the back.

"Mike always has been a bastard Jess. I'm glad you've finally seen the light," I said, smiling.

"What did you see in him anyway?" Tanya asked. "He's not even cute."

"I don't really know," Jess said. "I suppose I liked the idea of getting him when he was so wound up with Bella. Sorry," she added quickly, throwing me a grin.

"Nah, it's good," I said. "Mike never interested me. It was just funny to get him worked up. Hey, I bet you ten bucks that Mike and Lauren have snogged by the end of the night."

"Ew!" Tanya said, wrinkling her nose. "That's gross. No way. Not even Mike would sink that low, surely?"

"He so would," I said with a grin. "Ten dollars?"

"Fifteen."

"Deal," I said, shaking Tanya's hand.

For about ten minutes, we continued to chat and laugh together, before the hostess herself made herself known. She sauntered up to us, smirking, and felt the need to shove her nose into our business, and our conversation. Of course, she was wearing very little when she did. I wasn't sure the red scrap of lace she wore could be classed as a dress.

"So," she sneered. "How goes it?"

"Just fine Victoria," I said, not taking my eyes off of Jessica as she continued to speak, pretending not to have noticed Victoria. Victoria stamped her foot once in a rather childish manner, and then huffed, trying to get our attention. I continued to ignore her, until she really got under my skin.

"I guess I'll just go find Edward and see if he wants anything..." She trailed off in a voice that was clearly meant to be seductive. I spun round to face her, disgusted.

"Leave Edward alone," I hissed, my voice venomous.

"Ooh. Has Swan got a crush?" Victoria asked, her tone mocking and babyish.

I laughed humourlessly.

"Please bitch," I said. "Even if I do, it doesn't matter. You're trying to get Edward tonight, don't think I don't know. Why else would you have invited myself and my friends? Because you knew Edward would come if we did. And you want him."

"Swan-"

"Seriously Victoria, I've given you this warnings before. Remember? When you spouted all that shit about asking Edward out on a date? And what did I say? I said that that was your only warning." I smirked at Victoria as her face turned bright red.

"I-"

"So I'm going to change what I was planning to say to you, Victoria Hunter." I noticed that we'd gained an audience, and I raised my voice when I spoke again. "Fuck. Off." I enunciated each word firmly. "You hear me? Fuck off. I've had enough of your games, and I'm tired of your empty threats and general shit. You think you're an amazing person, but you're not. You think that having everyone bend to your wishes because they fear you is a good thing. It's not. If you were in my position, you wouldn't befriend Tanya and Jessica, you'd control them. You wouldn't laugh with them, you laugh at them.

"So hear me now, Victoria. You know nothing about compassion and friendship. I don't believe that you could ever hold Forks High. Why? Because you think you're the best. You think your opinion is fact. You think that you are the only person anybody should listen to. You try to play God.

"So I'm going to say this once, Victoria. Stop. Don't even bother to challenge me - you won't win. Because you don't understand people."

Victoria stared at me, her mouth hanging open in the most unattractive way. Disgusted, I turned around and made to continue my conversation with Jessica. I heard a whoop come from the other side of the room, which could only have come from Emmett. I smiled a little, and Tanya grinned.

"Up for a dance?" she asked.

"Punch, then dance," Jessica said, turning round to walk towards the bar that had been set up, selling soft drinks and punch. She picked up four glasses and held them in a rather precarious way as she walked back to us. I took a glass with a 'thanks' and drained it, not realising how thirsty I was.

Immediately, I swore.

"Shit guys, don't drink that," I said.

"Why?"

"It's been spiked. Fuck," I muttered, slamming my now-empty glass down on the table. Jessica, Tanya and Lauren had all drunk more than half of their punch, and they finished it, despite my warning. I sighed and shook my head at them, before telling them that I was going to find my sister.

I wove through the crowds, searching desperately for the black-haired pixie that was my twin. I found her in a corner, grinning at Jasper, her hands locked around his neck. I sniggered to myself, and interrupted them before I watched my sister and life-long friend make-out. I didn't want to see it.

"Alice!"

Alice's face fell and she turned to face me.

"What?"

I chuckled.

"The punch is spiked. You broke your promise."

"Whatever Bella. Get over it," she said, before moving her lips to Jasper's. Ew.

I rolled my eyes at the pair and returned to my friends, who were all dancing around on the side of the dance floor. Tanya grinned when she saw me, and I realised that she was slightly tipsy. Then again, so was I. I felt like I did when Carlisle drugged me up after breaking a limb or having another injury.

"Yo Bella!" she called.

I smiled and joined her, dancing to the music. Once upon a time, I hated dancing, as I lacked rhythm, coordination and the ability to dance without harming myself and others, but since I'd begun dating Jacob and hanging around with Tanya and co., I began to appreciate it more, and I could do so comfortably.

I glanced up to the clock, and saw that it had just gone midnight. We'd been there for over two hours. It didn't really feel like that. It didn't feel like it was two hours since I'd climbed out of Emmett's Jeep, almost feeling cold without Edward's thigh pressed innocently against mine due to lack of space.

Again, the thought made my cheeks heat up, but with the club-like, flashing lighting, I doubted my light blush could be seen. Jessica laid a hand on my shoulder, and flashed me a grin. She reached up so that she was at my height, and whispered in my ear. I stopped moving for a moment do I could listen to her.

"Edward is staring at you. Again. He's hardly been able to keep his eyes off of you all evening. Would you like me to straighten him out for you?"

"It's not necessary, thank you," I said, the side of my mouth tugging up in a half-smirk.

"If you're sure," she said with a shrug.

"Perfectly."

I continued to dance for a while, but I sneaked glances towards Edward, who stood on the other side of the dance floor, leaning against a wall and looking all kinds of sexy. His green shirt brought out his eyes, even at that distance, and his dark blue jeans showed off his toned legs.

He was fuck-hot.

Once when I glanced over to him, I caught him looking straight at me. Usually, his looking in my direction could be passed off as looking at something near me, but that time I had no doubt that Jessica and Tanya were right. Edward was staring at me. Perhaps it was because of the alcohol I had consumed, or perhaps it was just because I had a crush on the guy, but I found myself imagining what it would be like to kiss his lips.

As I moved my gaze away from Edward, I spotted Jasper walk up to him out of the corner of my eye and hand him a canned drink. Clearly he'd remembered what I had said to Alice about the punch. Jasper wasn't one to get drunk, even if he was allowed to. He said he didn't see the point. I watched Edward, surreptitiously, as he took a long swig from the can, and swallowed. His tongue rubbed over his lips slightly, and I found myself holding back a sigh, or a groan. He was so hot it was untrue, and he had no idea. Even that simple, innocent movement had me weak at the knees.

Where had this sudden attraction come from?

But, when I thought about it, I'd always liked Edward. Even during our first biology lesson together, when we'd exchanged as few words as possible. Edward had affected me even then, and I had tried to deny it. I didn't like the way he affected me, so I'd pushed it to the back of my mind, and it stayed there when we became friends.

But since he'd calmed me down so after Jacob breaking up with me, all of these thoughts had been unlocked again, and I'd pondered them more. I liked Edward, there was no doubt about it, and the attraction had always been there. I wondered whether Edward had ever felt for me what I was feeling from him, and I found myself hoping that he had.

"Are you staring at Edward now?" Tanya asked, raising an eyebrow and throwing me a smug look.

"Maybe," I said, glancing at the guy as I spoke.

Tanya snickered at me, and then twirled away.

I looked back over to Edward, and saw him laughing at something. I followed his gaze and saw Emmett and Rose busting out some nauseating moves. Well, the former was busting out nauseating moves. The latter was dancing gracefully, laughing at her boyfriend. Edward's lips stayed in a breath-taking, crooked smile, which had my heart fluttering wildly in my chest. I took a deep, shaking breath to try and calm myself. It failed.

Edward threw his head back and laughed, and my ears searched out that sound amongst all the others in the room. It was musical. I loved the sound. Edward picked up the can which was sitting next to him on a table, and I watched, fascinated, as his plump lips wrapped around the rim, and his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed. His malachite eyes were bright with amusement, and he ran a hand through his hair nonchalantly.

That was the final straw.

I didn't even think about doing it. I didn't realise I was doing it. It was probably partly due to the small amount of alcohol I had consumed, but I suspected that it was more to do with the wild flips, twists and thuds my heart was doing, and the innocently-sexy moves pulled by Edward.

Before I knew what I was doing, I'd stopped dancing and wove through the hoards of people, searching for one person, and one person only. Edward Cullen. I wasn't entirely sure what I'd do once I reached him, but I knew that I couldn't make do with careful glances anymore. I needed to be near Edward, and to have an excuse to stare at him for hours. The prefect excuse would be to engage in conversation.

By the time I was a couple of metres away from him though, all of my plans flew out of the window. He was still smiling at Emmett and Rose as they danced, and the very sight of him made my heart constrict in my chest. The strong feelings Edward was evoking within me scared me senseless, but I pushed away my fears for the night.

Edward clearly caught sight of somebody in the crowd, as he took a step forward. Bt I didn't want somebody else holding his attention. I wanted his full attention on me, as mine was on him, however selfish that sounds. I didn't care what people thought of me at that moment in time.

With eyes only for Edward, I flew towards him and threw my arms around his neck, knocking him backwards slightly in the process, and pressed my lips against his. Edward stumbled back again, and I felt our movement halt suddenly, presumably when his back hit a wall.

For a few seconds, Edward didn't move a muscle. I could tell that his hands were braced against something behind him, and I wondered if I'd gone to far. Perhaps Edward was uncomfortable with the thought of kissing me as I would be with kissing Jasper? I worried about my actions for a split second, before all coherent thoughts flew out of the window.

Slowly, I felt Edward move his arms away from the wall, or whatever he was bracing himself on, and they wrapped themselves around my waist. His lips began to press back against mine, and our lips began to move in synch. Edward stood further upright as sparks flew across the surface of my skin, and fireworks exploded inside of me. He wrapped his arms more firmly around my waist, and pulled me against him more comfortably.

My heart raced in my chest, and a wonderful, warm feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. It had to be about the most unromantic scenario for a first kiss, but I was so beyond caring. Sensations I didn't even know existed were wracking through my body at a hundred miles an hour, and I was aware of nothing but Edward.

Finally, I knew what the term 'soul-searing kiss' meant.

I'd been missing out on so much.


	10. Chapter 10-Not What I Was Expecting

**A/N**

**NaNoWriMo isn't far away now, and by God am I excited to start my new story! I've got a lot of stories lined up for the coming year, as that horrible thing called inspiration keeps reading it's head. My NaNo story will be out soon, as will 'Emerging Swan'. The sequel to 'Saviour' will be out in January or February, and I've just had a new idea for a story, which I will have to develop further. So 2014 will be an interesting year writing-wise!**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

**Lucy xX**

Edward's POV

The week after Bella broke up with Jacob wasn't easy for me. I wasn't used to being the centre of rumours, and the rumours about myself and Bella were flying. It was even worse because a horrible, tiny part of my brain wished that the rumours were true. I liked Bella, there was no doubt, but she would never think of me as anything more than a friend. What would a woman like her want with shy, geeky Edward Cullen?

Nor did I want to go to Victoria's party. The girl hardly left me alone, which made it incredibly awkward between myself and Bella. She witnessed first-hand how much Victoria followed me around, and it was clear that she didn't like it. Why? I had absolutely no idea, but Victoria was bugging the hell out of Bella.

But I did go to the party, partly for Alice's sake, and partly so that I could spend some of the evening with Bella. Though I knew she'd most likely go off to find Tanya and Jessica, I held on to the hope that she'd spare me a few minutes of her time. As pathetic as it sounded, the more time I spent with Bella, the better.

The drive to the party had me shifting uncomfortably in my seat. Due to lack of space with all of us in Emmett's Jeep, my thigh was pressed against Bella's, and it sent light sparks across my skin. I hoped that Bella didn't notice how much it affected me, but she wasn't looking my way as Emmett drove. Typically, I stumbled as I climbed out, and Bella's warm hand caught me before I fell.

The moment we got into Victoria's house, Bella disappeared, as I guessed she would. I followed her through the crowds with my eyes, hardly able to take my eyes off of her. She was wearing an incredibly pretty light blue dress, and it made her look... sexy. I'd never used the word to describe a girl before, but Bella evoked feelings inside of me I had no idea existed.

"Edward?" Jasper asked, touching my shoulder.

I turned to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Seriously, stop staring at Bella. Emmett will kill you."

Busted.

"I- uh, I have no idea what to say to that."

Jasper chuckled.

"Are you staring at her because she looks hot, or because you've got a crush on her?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Both," I said, blushing twelve shades of scarlet.

"You and every other boy in the town of Forks," Rose said, looking at me with her hands resting on her hips. "I thought better of you Edward Cullen."

"Rose," Jasper said, admonishing his sister gently. "Edward isn't that shallow."

"I'm glad," she said, scrutinising me carefully. "Now listen here Edward, if you like her because she looks pretty, I will bust your ass over to Canada. If you've got a crush on her because of her... Then good luck breaking through her skin."

Rose threw me a warm smile, which didn't fit with the cold tone of her words, and was dragged away by Emmett. Jesus Christ girls were complicated! Alice was exactly the same. I had no idea whether Rose now disliked me, or whether she was merely giving me some advice. I looked across to Jasper, who was laughing silently.

"Don't worry Edward," he said. "Rose is always like that."

"So I noticed."

"Seriously, forget about it. I know you're not like the rest of the twits that have a crush on Bella. You're a Cullen."

"What did she mean? 'Good luck breaking through her skin'...?"

"Nowadays, Bella doesn't get close to people easily. She doesn't trust easily. I was surprised that she befriended you as fast as she did. She was never really close to Jacob, even."

Before I could reply, Jasper was whisked away by Alice, and he shot me an apologetic smile. I grinned back at him, and walked over to the bar to grab myself a coke. After hearing Bella's story, I wasn't even going to attempt drinking the punch. Despite Alice's reassurances, I somehow doubted it would still be alcohol free by the end of the night.

I spotted Ben and Angela sitting at one of the tables, and I began to make my way over. Angela shot me a smile as I sat down, and we chatted nonchalantly for a while. I noticed Bella laughing with her friends on the other side of the room, and I couldn't help watching her. Tanya said something to her, and she glanced over at me, giggling a little. I looked away quickly, blushing slightly.

Damn.

Jasper and Alice joined us a few minutes later, and Jasper shot me a grin when my eyes travelled over to where I'd last seen Bella. She was staring at Jessica open-mouthed as the latter spoke, and then her disbelief turned into a satisfied grin. I looked away before she could catch me looking again, and Jasper leant towards me.

"You know, you can go and talk to her," he murmured.

I shot him a glare.

"If I work up the nerve, I might do."

Jasper shrugged, and moved away so that Emmett and Rose could sit down as well. Emmett had, of course, come with a load of drinks, and he threw around cans of drink to people at random. I caught mine, managing not to make a complete fool of myself, and listened to the conversations going on around me.

Though the night, I snuck glances at Bella. She looked happy the majority of the time, although she swore when she drunk some of the punch. Perhaps she realised it had been spiked... Immediately, she moved away from her friends and headed towards her sister, who looked like she was about to make-out with Jasper. Victoria had also come over to Bella, and had clearly angered her. Of course, this lead to an argument between them, which I didn't listen to. Emmett whooped at the end of it.

Just after midnight, I realised that I was sitting at the table on my own. I looked towards the dance floor, where Bella was dancing, looking incredibly hot, and where Emmett and Rose were also dancing. I stood up, needing to stretch my legs, and leant against the wall as I watched the couple. Emmett was gyrating his hips in the most nauseating way, while Rose danced like the elegant woman she was.

Laughing, I looked across at Bella again, and saw, with a flip of my insides, that she was looking at me. Our eyes met for a second, before we both looked away at the same time. A light blush covered my cheeks, and I was embarrassed beyond belief. But why was Bella watching me? Had I done something strange?

I clicked open the can and took a swig, before placing it down next to me. Jasper told me that Bella had complained about spiked punch. I glanced over at her, and noted that she didn't look drunk. Slightly brighter than usual, perhaps, but she didn't seem to have downed tons of the stuff.

"Alice and I are going outside for a bit, incase the others ask," Jasper said. I nodded in a acknowledgement, and Jasper disappeared.

I decided to force myself not to look at Bella - it was all just too embarrassing - and so instead I looked over and Rose and Emmett. I laughed at them, and reached for the can I had put down. I brought it to my lips and took a gulp, before spotting Angela frantically waving me over from the other side of the room. I put down my drink and pushed off from the wall I was leaning against, before taking a step forwards and—

_Bang!_

Something flew at me in a whirl of blue and brown, and warm arms were thrown around my neck. I stumbled backwards slightly, and braced my elbows behind me on the wall. I barely had time to take in that it was Bella that had thrown herself at me, before warm, full lips were pressed against mine.

For a moment, I froze. My hands were still braced on the wall behind me, and I couldn't force my body to move. I needed to wrap my head around what was happening first. Bella Swan was kissing me. _Bella Swan was kissing me._ Me. Edward Cullen. As soon as the thought had run through my head, I realised that I needed to stop thinking,

Slowly, I moved my arms away from the wall, and, tentatively, I wrapped them around Bella's waist. She fit perfectly against my body, and I didn't want her to move anywhere. My lips began to press back against hers, and our lips moved in synch. I stood further upright as sparks flew across the surface of my skin, and fireworks exploded inside of me. I wrapped my arms more firmly around her waist, and pulled her against me more comfortably.

My heart raced in my chest, and a wonderful, warm feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Sensations I didn't even know existed were wracking through my body at a hundred miles an hour, and I was aware of nothing but the beautiful woman in front if me, who had, for whatever weird and wonderful reason, decided to kiss me.

After God knows how long, the need to breath overrode my need to kiss Bella, and, slowly, I pulled away, not making my movements too abrupt or sudden. I looked down at Bella, who, I noticed for the first time, was several inches shorter than myself. Her eyes were still shut, and a small smile was playing on the edges of her lips. Still smiling, she opened her eyes and looked up at me, her arms locked around my neck.

And that was when the nerves kicked in.

Why had Bella kissed me? She'd never given me any indication that was interested in me in that way, and then, suddenly, she was throwing herself at me and kissing me. It was incredibly confusing. I looked into her eyes, unable to look away, but my heart was thudding, and not because of the feelings she was cutting loose inside me. What did this woman want with me? She was so far out of my league it was untrue, and yet here we were. What was I meant to do?

I could feel the smile on my face slipping away a little, and, as though in response to my own change in expression, Bella's morphed into a slight frown. I didn't want her to mar her beautiful face with a frown. I didn't move away from her, but I didn't want to be the one to break the silence. I'd only ever dated one girl, who was shy and geeky like myself. How was I meant to act around somebody like Bella?

"Edward," Bella breathed quietly.

I felt my face heat up at her attention, but didn't look away. Instead, as I had no idea what to say, I touched my lips back to hers, just once, and then pulled away again. She smiled again, and I returned it. Time stood still around us, and we were frozen in the moment. I didn't want time to unfreeze.

"You've been watched Emmett and Rose tonight, haven't you?" she asked, her voice soft.

"Yes," I said, unsure of where she was going with her line of questioning.

"Let's take a leaf from their book, and go dance."

"I can't dance. I'm completely uncoordinated."

"Sure you can. Come on."

Bella slipped her arms away from my neck, and slipped one hand into one of mine, before tugging me towards the dance floor. I saw Victoria shooting us daggers, and Jessica and Tanya staring in astonishment, but I couldn't find it in me to care. Jasper turned his head and grinned at me.

Bella spun around to face me, and put her arms on my shoulders. I felt exceedingly awkward as I shifted around with Bella, not sure what to do with my hands or my feet. She made it look so very simple, as did the couples around us, yet I was sure I looked like a complete idiot, shuffling my feet a bit and moving with Bella.

"Relax," she said, taking my hands and placing them on her waist.

At her touch, feeling her waist move as she twisted her hips in a far more dignified manner than Emmett did, I began to relax, and got lost in the music, and the eyes on the girl in front of me. Bella beamed at me, and my lips tugged upwards in a crooked smile. Bella's eyes glazed over slightly, and she blushed a little. I probably wouldn't have noticed had I not been looking at her.

"Why are you staring at me?" she whispered.

I blinked in surprise.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm dancing with you. What else would I look at? And besides, you look beautiful."

Bella's cheeks darkened at my words, and I laughed a little.

"Jacob never looked at me when we danced. Not like that."

"Put an angel in the room, and I'll stare at something else," I said with a smile. I wasn't entirely sure where this confident Edward had come from, but I was hoping he'd stick around for a bit. Bella giggled at me, and the song changed to something a little slower. I had no experience dancing, so I wasn't sure what to do.

Around me, I saw couples shifting so that they were closer to their other. Bella put her arms around my neck, and I bit my lip, unsure of what to do. I allowed myself to relax though, before I got the chance to worry too much, and found myself moving gently with Bella.

I had to admit, Victoria's party had been a blessing.

I returned home late on Saturday night, and had clutched Bella's hand all through the journey back to her house. Emmett dropped her and Alice off, and I'd managed to get in a brief, goodnight kiss. It had left me feeling elated. Jasper and Rose were next on Emmett's list of drop-offs, and then I was being ditched at Carlisle and Esme's door.

Needless to say, my guardians were asleep by the time I got home, and I allowed myself to strip out of my jeans and t-shirt and pull in a clean pair of boxers before falling into my bed and drifting off into a blissful sleep. My dreams, of course, were filled with images of Bella.

I awoke late the following morning, and drifted downstairs to find Carlisle and Esme talking quietly across the kitchen table. I could smell crumpets in the oven, and I inhaled the scent appreciatively. They both looked up when I entered the room, and I swung myself into a chair.

"How was last night?" Esme asked, her voice gentle.

A shit-eating grin spread across my face.

"Last night was great," I said, smiling as I remembered what had happened.

Bella had kissed me.

And I'd kissed her back.

Carlisle raised an eyebrow at me, appearing amused.

"Bella Swan didn't get herself drunk again, did she?" he asked, only half serious.

"No," I said with a slight laugh.

"Uh oh." Esme smiled. "What happened with Bella?"

I turned to her, and found myself telling my aunt and uncle about the entire evening. I felt as comfortable talking to them as I did my parents. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I felt slightly sad. I still wasn't used to using the past tense when thinking of and talking about my parents.

"That's sweet," Esme said. "Are you a couple?"

Her question stumped me.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "I'll see her on Monday, I guess."

"Oh no you don't Edward Cullen." Esme shook her head at me, looking fierce. "No you don't. Go and find out the answer today. She's kissed you, the least you can do is pay her a visit to talk about it."

I was slightly taken aback, but I nodded.

So, an hour later, I was pulling up in the Swans' driveway, feeling nervous as hell. I assumed that the Chief would be home, and I had no idea how he treated people that kissed his daughter. Well, assuming that Bella had told her father about the previous night. Somehow I got the impression that Chief Swan wasn't the easiest person to talk to about anything romantic.

I climbed out of my car and walked up to the front door. I knocked, and waited. Not a few seconds later, the door was opened by Charlie Swan, who scowled at me. I felt myself flush slightly, and I bit my lip. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared me down, but I refused to look away. I didn't want to allow myself to be intimidated.

"Morning," he said gruffly.

"Morning Chief," I said, returning to formalities.

"Dad!" came a beautiful voice from somewhere in the house. "Be nice!"

"Always am Bells," he said, stepping aside. "You here to see Bella, Edward?"

I nodded, relieved that I wasn't about to be shot.

"I know that you two are practically adults, and it's none of my business way you do," Charlie said. "But if you hurt Bella, I will rip you up and scatter you across the forest. Do I make myself clear?"

Bella hollered at her father, but I nodded anyway. Charlie smiled, clapped me on the back, and motioned me into his house. God, the man could be scary when he wanted to be. I assumed that it came with being a cop though. There were worse things to be than scary though.

Alice waved to me from where she sat, beside Jasper, on the sofa, and I smiled back at her. I turned my gaze to Bella, who was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching Charlie with a disapproving expression. She threw me a smile, and said hello. She then took my hand, and dragged me upstairs.

"Door open!" Charlie hollered.

"Like I'd do that with you in the house," Bella muttered under her breath, causing me to chuckle.

Bella lead me into her bedroom, which was mostly purple, with a lot of books and a stack of CDs in one corner. Bella's bedroom didn't get many points on the neatness factor, but I didn't really care. She sat down on her bed, tugging me with her, and kicked the door so that it was just open.

"I hope you don't mind me dropping by unannounced," I said.

"Not at all. I rather hoped you would," she said, looking slightly shy, which was not a look I was accustomed to seeing on Bella's face. I'd grown to know her as a confident person that didn't flush easily, and yet here she was, a perfect mixture of the girl she apparently once was, and the woman she'd become. Anybody that didn't know who Bella Swan was was an idiot.

"Bella," I began, and then hesitated. I didn't want to sound rude.

"Yes?" she prompted me.

"Don't get the wrong idea," I said, not meeting her gaze, but I took one of her hands in mine and began to play with her fingers. "But what was last night? I mean, I don't-"

"Edward," she said, cutting me off. "I understand. Last night was me telling you that I don't just want to be your friend."

"You saw me staring at you, didn't you?" I asked, lifting my eyes to hers.

"Yes," she whispered.

"That was me giving you the same message."

Bella's expression softened, and I leant forwards to brush my lips against hers once, then twice, then a third time. I moved my lips a few millimetres away from hers, and allowed my breath to wash over her face. Hers began to come faster, and then in quick, shallow gasps as I traced random patterns across the area where her neck and shoulder joined.

I leant forwards and pressed my lips against hers, this time with a little more pressure, and snaked my arms around her waist, holding her against me where we knelt on the bed. Bella hands came up to the back of my neck, and her fingers delved into my hair. She pulled her lips away from mine, breathing heavily, and pressed them back again. She repeated this action twice, the gaps in-between kisses shortening.

She knelt up and fixed her lips to mine, running her hands through my hair more regularly and quickly. I moved my lips back against hers, and fireworks exploded inside of me. I cupped her face with one hand, and traced circles on her soft, smooth cheek as we kissed. Bella's kisses were, undoubtedly, addictive.

We both pulled away, gasping for air, and I rested my forehead against hers. Her fingers were still buried in my hair, and I recalled the sensation of having them moving through it. It was heavenly. I could smell her strawberry shampoo in her hair, and I took in a deep breath, and opened my eyes to gaze at the beautiful woman I had, somehow, snagged.

"Bella, will you go on a date with me?" I blurted out. Mentally, I slapped myself as soon as I'd said it.

"Of course," she murmured.

And so I had a date with the Queen Bee of Forks High.


	11. Chapter 11-Dazzling

**A/N**

**Look at what we've got here! A mid-week update! Well, I've actually got a pretty relaxed week, so you can expect a few updates. I'll be honest, I'll probably be leaving 'Seducing the Good-Girl' until I've finished this book. I'm hoping for it to be around twenty chapters, plus an epilogue. I'm also hoping - keyword being 'hoping' - that I'll have this one finished in time for NaNoWriMo, which takes place during November. I've got several other things lined up for the coming year, and I may get to start something sooner than I'd hoped if I finish this one soon!**

**Enjoy this chapter, and enjoy the peek at a stressed-out Bella!**

**Lucy xX**

Bella's POV

I had a date with Edward Cullen.

The words had been going round and round in my head all through Monday and Tuesday. We'd agreed to go out during the evening of Tuesday, and, by the time I got home on date day, I was having a clothes crisis. Typically, my sister was out with Jasper, and Rose was at the gym - probably with Emmett in tow. And of course, Angela was on babysitting duties for her two brothers.

So, as much as I hated to, I called the only other person that would help me out in that kind of situation. Tanya. Within moments, there was a knock on the front door, and Tanya was standing on my porch, grinning at me. I let her in, and she dug around in my wardrobe while I paced around, pulling out my hair. Metaphorically speaking.

"You're going to dinner right?" she asked.

"Yes, and a movie."

"I told you so," Tanya said, not turning around as she filed systematically through my clothes.

"What?"

"I told you that you'd snag Edward soon enough. Hello? He's fuck-hot!"

I rolled my eyes at my friend.

"Believe it or not Tanya, I'm not a shallow bitch. I kissed Edward because I like him, not his fucking hair."

Tanya snorted.

"Are you telling me you don't like his hair?"

"God no," I said. "He's got awesome hair."

Of course, this comment sent us both off into peals of laughter, which I had trouble reigning in. A moment later, Tanya pulled out a khaki skirt which I'd bought about a year before hand, and a pretty, light blue sweater with swirling patterns. I gaped when I saw it, as I hadn't worn it for years. Literally.

"Where in Earth did you find that? Didn't I throw that out?" I asked.

"Clearly not," Tanya replied. "It was at the back."

"I am not wearing that."

"Why on Earth not? You look great in blue, and this one is really nice."

I huffed, before disappearing into the bathroom to change. I glanced at myself in the mirror, and had to admit that I looked good. Even Alice would have been impressed by the outfit Tanya had chosen for me. I unlocked the door again and walked back in. Tanya was standing behind my dresser, and had put a pair of black boots next to my bed.

"Let me do your hair and make-up," she said, motioning to the chair in front of her. I sat down without a fuss. I only hated make-up when my sister was applying it. Tanya knew what I liked to wear, and how much I liked to wear. She'd spent more time with me than anyone else since my 'transformation'.

"Thank you," I said, once she'd finished twirling up my hair.

"Sure. Have a good time tonight."

"You bet," I said with a grin, just as the doorbell rang. That could only be one person. I was both incredibly fucking nervous and damn ecstatic. On one hand, I'd never dated somebody like Edward before, and was afraid of messing up, and on the other hand, dating somebody like Edward would give me the chance to be myself. Edward seemed, amazingly, to know me better than anybody else.

"Bella? Move!" Tanya hissed.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow, ok?" I said, heading to the door.

"Have fun. I'll go after you do."

I gave her a quick hug, and then rushed down the stairs. My father was sitting in his recliner, and was shooting the door filthy looks. I had no idea why he was so upset with me dating again. He'd never been that against me dating Jacob. Then again, perhaps he was worried that Edward would hurt me, like Jacob had.

"Leave Edward alone," I warned him, just as I opened the door.

And oh what a sight.

Edward stood behind the door, wearing a pair of dark navy jeans which showed off his toned legs, and a green shirt which brought out his green eyes. His hair was in beautiful disarray, as per usual, and in one hand he was clasping a bunch of purple, blue and white delphiniums. His other hand was clenching and unclenching nervously, and his eyes held both excitement and terror.

I shot him a wide smile, trying to put him at ease, and kissed his cheek as I said hello.

"Those are lovely," I said, nodding towards the flowers.

Blushing, Edward held them out to me. I threw him another smile, thanked him, and went to put the flowers in water. I saw Charlie begin to stand up, but I shook my head at him with a glare. He opened his mouth in protest, but I shook my head again. Charlie was not going to grill Edward tonight.

Edward was still waiting on the porch when I returned, and I saw that he was shifting from foot to foot, apprehensively. When he saw me, he smiled a little and held out a slightly trembling hand. I loved how nervous he was. It made him far, far cuter. I took his hand, gave it a squeeze, and shut the door with a click. We headed towards his car, and he opened my door for me. Swoon.

The sounds of classic rock filled his car when he keyed the engine, and I smiled slightly. It was a genre of music I enjoyed. I knew that Edward played the piano, so I'd assumed that he'd listen to classical music or some such shit. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated music, but classical music? No. Not unless I was hearing it live.

And right there, I saw an opening to fill the awkward silence.

"You like classic rock?" I asked.

"Yep," Edward said, flushing slightly. "What do you like?"

"Music-wise? I like classic rock too. I don't like classical much. Some modern pop is ok, but some of it is utter shit."

Edward laughed.

"I agree with that assessment. In fact, most of it is utter shit."

"You play the piano right?"

"Yeah, I do. I haven't played at all since-" Edward seemed to cut himself off, and I knew why. I reached over the console and squeezed his hand gently. Edward took a deep breath. "Since I moved up here."

I smiled a little.

"Maybe you could play something for me?"

In all honesty, I was desperate to hear Edward play the piano. It didn't matter if he was any good or not. Though, somehow, I suspected that he'd be amazing. Edward could be a bit of a perfectionist, and I assumed that that trait carried over to his musical studies, not just in the classroom.

"Carlisle as a piano," Edward said. "I don't know if it's tuned."

I smiled.

"I expect it is. Esme likes to keep things in perfect running order."

"You don't say," Edward replied with a grimace.

We both laughed, and I was pleased that Edward seemed to have forgotten his nerves, and was now talking and laughing with me easily. I could understand his nerves. When I first dated Jacob, I'd been terrified. He was the bad-boy, and I was just an ordinary, quiet, shy girl.

Not long later, we pulled up outside a little placed called South North Gardens. It was a pretty Chinese place which I'd passed several times, but I'd never been there. It was here that Alice and Jasper went on their first date, which was, when I thought about it, pretty ironic.

"Is this ok?" Edward asked, fiddling with her fingers.

"Perfectly," I said, smiling.

We climbed out of the silver Volvo, Edward getting my door for me, and headed into the restaurant. We were seated pretty quickly, next to a window, with an elderly couple next to us. They smiled when we passed their table, and I saw the lady raise an eyebrow at the man I assumed was her husband when Edward pulled out my chair for me. I had to stifle a giggle. It warmed my heart to see Edward being so sweet. Apparently, chivalry wasn't dead.

We talked about films and music as we chose our food, and I glared at the waitress when she took our order. She was openly ogling my guy! Well, he wasn't mine, yet, but I was on a date with him, and she wasn't. She asked us what we wanted - no, asked Edward what he wanted - all the while thrusting her overly large boobs on his face.

"Bella?" he asked.

I placed my order, and Edward placed his. I couldn't contain my smirk. That's right bitch. He's mine. I had no idea that I could feel so possessive. She left, looking flushed and a little deflated, and Edward was watching me with an adorably confused frown. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what was going on in his mind.

"What's the smirk for?" he asked.

I laughed.

"The waitress. She's probably hyperventilating in the kitchen, poor girl."

"Why?" he asked, his frown deepening.

"You were dazzling her."

"Dazzling her?"

"Oh come on. You must know the effect your eyes have on people. Specifically the female half of the population."

"Do I dazzle you?" he asked, using the full power of his bright, malachite eyes. Whether or not this was deliberate I had no idea.

"Frequently."

My answer seemed to please Edward, as he smiled - dazzling me again in the process - and we fell into an easy conversation about foods we liked and disliked. Edward, it seemed, was not a fan of mushrooms, or bananas. I giggled at the last one, and asked him his reasoning.

"They're all mushy," he said, pulling a disgusted face. "And the outside is all fury."

"Fury bananas?"

"Yes."

I laughed again, and our food was delivered. Edward let out a delectable moan as he tried his first mouthful, and I had to clench my fists to keep me where I was. There was no way in hell I would humiliate myself by kissing Edward senseless in public, but I sure as fucking hell wanted to. The man was too sexy for his own good.

"That is good. Want some?"

We spent the remainder of our evening sharing our food, and, several times, I had to grip the edge of my seat to keep myself where I was. I felt rather jealous of Edward's fork, which had been feeling rather too much of his lips that evening. Each time his delectable lips wrapped around it, I wished they were wrapping around some part - any part - of my body. That rather sinful thought had me blushing, and Edward noticed it.

"What's got you blushing?"

"No way," I said, shaking my head. "It's far too embarrassing."

Edward grinned at me, but didn't press the matter. He got the bill when it was delivered, ignoring my protests. With little grace, I allowed him to pay, and I had to refrain from growling at the waitress when she flashed him a flirtatious smile on her way back, swaying her hips. She was pretty, there was no doubt, but I hoped to hell that Edward wasn't shallow enough to fall for somebody like her. The fact that he hadn't even not iced her attempts made me think I was right.

We strolled out hand in hand, and drove into Port Angeles to Lincoln movie theatre. It annoyed me frequently that Forks didn't have a cinema, but the time in the car with Edward was precious to me, as horribly pathetic as that sounded to myself. Jesus, I sounded like one of those clingy bitches I'd always made fun of.

When Guns and Roses came on the radio, I had no choice but to sing along. Sweet Child O' Mind was one of my favourites.

"She's got eyes of the bluest skies

As if they thought of rain

I hate to look into those eyes

And see an ounce of pain

Her hair reminds me

Of a warm safe place

Where as a child I'd hide

And pray for the thunder

And the rain

To quietly pass me by

"Sweet child o' mine

Sweet love of mine."

Edward joined in my singing a few lines through, and we both laughed.

"You know Guns and Roses?" he asked.

"You bet I do. They sing some awesome songs."

"And some meaningful ones."

I agreed, and we pulled up outside of the cinema. We strolled in, still chatting casually, and had a look at the films they were showing. To be honest, it all looked like shit, but I didn't want to waste time with Edward, so I pretended to look interested in a couple. Edward tugged me into his side, and threw his arm around my shoulders.

"What about this?" I asked, pointing to a terribly-looking romantic comedy.

Edward pulled a face.

"Really?"

"No," I said. "Really not. But nothing else looks any good, and I don't want our evening to end."

Edward smiled a little and squeezed my shoulders.

"Want to come over to my place and watch something? Esme will be home."

"And not listen to some asshole talking the whole way through? Fuck yes."

Edward grinned at me, and we made our way back outside. About twenty minutes later, we were pulling up outside of the Cullen mansion. I'd seen the house before, and it still amazed me every time I saw it. I shook my head at the enormous house in awe, and Edward laughed a little.

"You've seen it before, right?"

"Yeah, but it's still mentally amazing. I never did understand why they needed so much space."

"Obviously they knew they had a little nephew that would have to move in," Edward said, with a cocky smirk.

"Uh huh," I said sarcastically.

We headed inside, and were greeted by Esme. She wrapped me up in a hug, for the first time since I was twelve years old, and whispered a motherly greeting in my ear. I was slightly shocked, but I hugged her back nevertheless. I had to admit, having somebody hug me like that was nice. My own mother hardly classed as one at all. I hadn't heard from her in weeks, and the last time had been a shouting match.

Edward lead me upstairs once Esme had released me, and hugged Edward herself. She told us to leave the door open, which made Edward roll his eyes. He pushed the door of his bedroom to, and I gawped at what I saw in front of me. I remembered Edward's room as once being a perfectly ordinary, albeit rather large, guest room.

Now, one wall had been replaced almost entirely by glass, giving him a fantastic view of the forest beyond. A mahogany, king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room, covered with a plain beige duvet, and a modern, black desk sat in one corner. Another wall was taken up by a large shelf, containing books, music and DVDs. A CD player and TV sat on a large wooden table a few metres in front of and a little to the side of his bed.

"Wow. This is a transformation," I said.

Edward scratched the back of his neck.

"It's extravagant."

"No shit," I said, rolling my eyes. "How have you arranged your music?"

Edward grinned.

"By year, and then alphabetically in the year. Films too."

"And that's logical because..?"

Edward shrugged.

"It's not a bad thing," I assured him. "It's just different. Film?"

"You pick," he said.

"No, you pick. I never know what to watch."

Edward nodded, and, after a little deliberation, picked up a box and slipped the disk into the DVD player. I grinned when the opening credits came on. Edward had out in the third season of Doctor Who, which just happened to contain David Tenant. My favourite doctor.

"You like Doctor Who?" I asked, turning to face him as he sat down on the bed.

"Most definitely."

"Who's your favourite doctor?"

"Matt Smith, but I like Tom Baker too. You?"

"David Tenant all the way."

We shared grins and settled back to watch the film. Edward wrapped his arm around me, and I snuggled into his side, curling myself around him and getting as close as I could without literally sitting on his lap. He didn't seem to mind, and I found myself enjoying the kisses he pressed to the top of my head a little bit too much. He distracted me from what we were watching, but I didn't really care much.

A couple of hours later, after our kissing session, Edward took me back home, joking about my dad shooting him. We passed Carlisle on our way out, who smiled at me. I respected the guy, and it made me pleased to know that he didn't disapprove of my relationship with Edward.

"Bella?" Edward asked, just as we parked outside my house.

"Hm?"

"We'll you be my girlfriend?"

I smiled softly.

"Of course," I said, kissing his lips.

"Goodnight," he said, kissing me back. A minute or two of passionate kisses ensued, before we saw the light in the kitchen click on. Edward sighed and walked me to the front door.

"Thank you for a wonderful date," I said.

"Thank you," he said, smiling. He kissed my cheek once, and then I opened the door and closed it quickly, my heart pounding.

"Have a good time?" Charlie asked, coming in.

"Yes," I said. "I had a fantastic time."

"Tell your sister about it, she's dying to know."

I smiled at Charlie and darted upstairs to my bedroom, where Alice lay in wait.

I'd had a date with Edward Cullen.

I'd had a date with Edward Cullen.

I'd had a date with Edward Cullen, and I'd freaking loved it.


	12. Chapter 12-Female Drama

**A/N**

**Another speedy update my fellows! The first little bit of this chapter is deliberately short, just so we can see what Edward thought during the date. The rest is back to it's normal length of detail, and, of course, a little more drama. This story has been distinctly lacking in the drama department lately, so I've fixed that with some girl trouble. Don't shoot me at the end, please? We all know that Bella can be a little melodramatic!**

**Enjoy!**

**Lucy xX**

Edward's POV

Ok, so dating somebody like Bella Swan wasn't exactly normal for me. Hell, I'd had one girlfriend ever, and she'd ditched me within a few weeks. And now I was dating the Queen Bee of Forks High. Needless to say, by the time I reached her front door I was a shaky, nervous wreck.

When Bella opened the door, all coherent thought flew out of the window. She looked damn beautiful. She was wearing a blue sweatshirt which looked really good on her - she needed to wear blue more often - and a khaki skirt. After handing her flowers, we got into my car and drove to the restaurant I was taking her to.

We mainly discussed music on our way there, and we found a common love for classic rock. I was glad to know that we had things in common. Sure, we'd been friends, and had had conversations about our hobbies and some such, but I was a pretty boring guy. I didn't really do that much. So it was nice to have a conversation like that.

We ordered some good food, and Bella informed me that I frequently 'dazzled' her. This made me blush and smile. The only person I wanted to dazzle was sitting right in front of me. We spent an hour or so at the restaurant, and shared our food. I paid the bill, despises Bella's protests, and we headed into the movie theatre on Port Angeles.

When we got there, we both decided that there wasn't actually anything there that we wanted to see. So I suggested that we go back to my place and watch something - I added that Esme would be there, incase Bella was worried about Charlie being upset with her for being alone with me. Not that I'd try anything inappropriate with his daughter - my mother had trained me better than that thank you very much!

Esme and Bella greeted each other, and we headed upstairs to watch something. I put Doctor Who on, which resulted in a conversation about the best doctor. We spent a good half hour kissing, which I wasn't complaining about, and then we headed home, after greeting Carlisle. It was nice to see that my aunt and uncle approved of my girlfriend. Their support meant more to me than I'd thought it would. Hell, I liked them more than I'd thought I would.

As we reached her house, I asked her to be my girlfriend. I wasn't sure if Bella was expecting it or not, but I wanted her to be mine, exclusively, and I didn't want some other guy that was far better for her than myself coming along and snagging her away from me. I was ecstatic when she said yes. I kissed her goodnight, and our evening was over.

Needless to say, heading back to school the following morning was not a particularly pleasant experience. Most people hated Mondays, but I hated Wednesdays. You thought you were halfway through the week when you woke up, and then you realised that you still had three more days until the weekend. Damn, it annoyed me.

I'd forgotten to set my alarm the previous night, so Esme woke me up later than I'd usually be up. I was rushing to get dressed, and I ended up trying to put my socks on while pulling up my jeans. I fell over, and a round of choice cursing and swearing ensued. I glanced at my hair in the mirror, but I didn't attempt to tame it. It was a pointless exercise.

"You ok, Edward?" Esme asked when I came downstairs.

I sighed.

"I was trying to rush. I'm not good at it."

"Neither was your mother," Esme said, handing me a plate of toast.

"I know. That's where I get it from, apparently."

I bid my aunt goodbye and hauled my ass into my car. I hit the gas pedal and sped off, driving at twice the speed limit to try and get to school on time. Of course, I got held up by some fucking grandma who insisted on driving at half of the speed limit. I growled in frustration as I got stuck behind a red light, and found myself thumping the steering wheel.

When I finally got to school, I had two minutes to get to class, by my watch. I leapt out of the car and raced across the parking lot, walking quickly down the corridor towards my locker. If course, being as uncoordinated as I was, I managed to do a nice head-plant into my locker. Fucking great.

I groaned as I sat up, and found two worried brown eyes looking at me from above.

"Edward?" asked the voice of my angel.

"Bella?" I groaned.

"You took a nice blow there," she laughed. "You ok?"

"Yeah," I said, pulling myself up. "I'm good. Aren't we going to be late?"

Bella laughed again.

"My poor sweet boy," she said. "We've still got ten minutes."

"You're kidding me?" I groaned.

"Nope," she said, still laughing. "Is your watch wrong?"

I glanced down at the offending item, and realised that it was, indeed, ten minutes fast. I cursed myself, and threw open my locker, piling in the junk I'd need for morning lessons and emptying my bag from the previous night. We'd had a horrible load of math, which I'd had to text Emmett about. The guy was amazing at math.

Bella and I bid each other goodbye with a quick kiss, and I headed to my first lesson. I sat down beside Jasper and behind Tanya, as usual, and waited for the pure evil known as calculus to begin. Our teacher walked in and sat down at his desk, before calling the register. Jasper snicker at the despair in my voice as I answered, earning him a glare from me.

"You don't suck at calc," I hissed.

He shrugged at me. Scowling, I picked up my pen and began to write down the notes written down on the whiteboard. Of course, this was a challenging task, as I sat near the back and our teacher had the smallest writing known to mankind. There was nothing wrong with my eyesight, but it hurt to try and decipher his words for long. Jasper and I took it in turns trying to read.

When at last our lesson was over, I all but booked it out of the room. Jasper was still sniggering behind me and he waved and bid me goodbye, and I headed into Spanish in a fowl mood. Not that I wasn't usually in a fowl mood after calc, but it was an even fowler mood than usual.

Alice was jubilant, as freaking normal, when I sat down beside her, and I was tempted to go and sit by Tyler so that I could escape her. Sure, I liked Alice a lot, but she was a bit much sometimes. Especially when teenager is in bad mood. She shot me a wide grin when I seated myself, and I had to refrain from snapping at her. That would make me a git.

But when Lauren and Jessica began arguing - I assumed they were arguing, as all I could hear was hissing - I nearly lost it. I made an inky blotch on my page as I tried to write down what was being dictated, and still remember all the present tense verb shit, and bit down on the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from screaming.

Next to me, Alice looked mildly irritated. When the teacher's attention was occupied, she turned round and told Jessica and Lauren, in no uncertain terms, to shut up. Thankfully, they did, although I could hear some angry mutters coming from Lauren as I worked. I felt like my mood couldn't get any worse, but, of course, I was wrong.

English with Angela was fairly normal, and didn't annoy me too much. English was a far calmer subject than calculus and Spanish, so my mood was a little better. Not to mention, I got to see my girl afterwards. That thought put a smile on my face. My girl. I thought back to the morning, and realised she'd called me hers. 'My poor, sweet boy'... I was hers. And she was mine.

Together, myself and Angela headed into the lunch hall, chatting casually. That was one of the reasons I liked Angela. She didn't squeak and squeal and demand all the details of everything in my life like a certain pixie I knew. She was also far more ordinary than Rose, who, admittedly, intimidated me slightly.

I sat down beside Jasper, and spotted Bella walking in. She looked totally pissed, but she still looked beautiful.

"You're all sparkly," Jasper murmured.

"What?" I spluttered. "Sparkly?"

"You're glowing. Whenever you see Bella you get this dopey look on your face. It's nauseating, actually."

"Like you and Alice don't?" Rose asked, swinging herself into a chair with incredibly grace. Emmett grinned at his girlfriend, and told Jasper that she had a point. This, of course, resulted in an argument between couples about who was the most revolting when thinking of their significant other.

I was more worried about Bella.

She stalked up to the table where Victoria, Jessica, Lauren and Jane were sitting, said something to them, then took Tanya's arm and dragged the girl towards our table. Bella looked so angry it was untrue. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and never let her go, but I figured that wouldn't help very much.

She scowled and sat down next to me, before attacking the pasta in front of her.

"Bella? Please calm down," I said softly.

She turned to me.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Edward? Did you just tell me to calm down?"

"Yes," I said, feeling a little more confident than I once would have done. "I don't want you to choke."

Bella's expression softened considerably.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's ok. What's got you so angry?"

To my surprise, it was Tanya that answered.

"That fucking bitch, Victoria," she snarled. "She has no idea when she's going too far."

"What did she do?"

"She was making a fucking lot of snide comments about us," Bella growled. She sounded damn sexy when she did that, but it was a completely inappropriate time to have that thought. "She was lying, being generally rude, and she pissed me off. I may have hit her."

I was shocked, to say the least.

"She was no lady, lets put it like that," Tanya said, watching Bella carefully.

"Are you ok?" I asked Bella gently.

"I'm fine. She's going to have a nice bruise though. Perhaps not my most intelligent move ever."

I agreed with her, but didn't say so. I didn't want to provoke Bella's anger any further. Instead, we ate quietly, leaving behind whatever Victoria had said to upset Bella. Though I was curious, I didn't really want to know exactly what was said about us. Ignorance could be a blessing.

Our lunch hour finished, and I held out my hand to Bella. While I was aware that she didn't need help standing up, it was a sentiment bestowed upon me by my mother, and it gave me an excuse to touch her skin. Even brushing our fingertips together made my skin light up. We headed to biology hand in hand, and I opened the door for her.

I sat down, and then looked to my right to see not Bella, but Victoria in her seat, smirking at me. Bella was standing next to her, mouth agape, her eyes blazing with pure fury. I saw Jessica stand up slightly, and I also saw Mike Newton smirking from where he sat. He was looking very fucking smug indeed.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Bella hissed at Victoria.

"Sitting next to my boyfriend," she replied.

That time my mouth fell open.

"That's a fucking lie," I said.

"No," Victoria said. "It's not."

I was too shocked to speak. I barely registered Bella's horrified, hurt expression, but I definitely noticed her move away from the desk. She sat down in a spare seat at the back, and I saw tears well up in her eyes. I went to stand up and comfort her, but Jessica shook her head at me slightly. She looked sympathetic, and motioned me over. I stood up and crossed the few paces to her desk.

"I don't know," she began. "But I'm going to guess that Victoria and Mike are in cahoots. Bella'll be ok, she just needs a moment. Talk to her later."

"Why would Mike and Victoria be in cahoots?"

"Hello Edward? Victoria wants you, and Mike wants Bella. It makes sense. They're both utterly evil. Victoria won't win against Bella though, not if you don't fall for any of it."

"Why on Earth would I fall for Victoria?"

"According to her, you already have."

I snorted.

"That's just disgusting, you know that?" I asked, shuddering at the thought of being Victoria's boyfriend.

"Yeah, it is. Especially as I'm pretty sure she has a boyfriend."

"Who?"

"Some guy called James. Both Bella and I have caught her talking to 'James' a couple of time, over the phone. She's been acting fishy all year. Something weird is going on, but I've no idea what."

"I don't know anyone called James in Forks," I said, frowning. I thought I knew everybody in this minuscule town.

"Neither do I," Jessica admitted.

Mr. Banner walked in at that moment, halting our conversation and causing me to return to my seat. I scooted my chair as far away from Victoria's as the space available would allow, but she merely scooted closer to me. I turned my head away from her, and tried to focus on the lesson, and not smack the girl silly. I noticed Bella sitting on her own at the back, and her head was bent over her book, stopping me from seeing her face. Mike still looked fucking smug.

"So, Edward," Victoria breathed.

"Get away from me," I snapped.

"No, I-"

"Stop it. I don't want to know. Leave me alone," I said through gritted teeth.

The lesson continued with Victoria being far too close for comfort, and myself trying to get as far away from her as I could. Jessica kept shooting Victoria glares, but it didn't seem to affect the girl. Honestly, she was driving me round the bend. I remembered her assaulting me during my first ever biology lesson, and cringed at the image.

Finally, the lesson ended, and I threw my shit into my bag, before heading back towards where Bella had sat next to one of the not-quite-popular girls. I walked up to her, but she wouldn't meet my eye. That had me worried. Did she think I was encouraging Victoria? Did she think I wanted Victoria there?

"Bella, I-"

"Save it Edward." Her voice was flat, and she didn't look at me.

Mike walked up to her, brushing me aside, and walked her out, talking gently to her. He shot me a triumphant smirk, and I stood there, staring after the pair, horrified. I ignored Victoria as she followed me, and sought out Jessica. I needed some advice, and she seemed to know Bella very well.

"Did you see Mike?" I asked her, feeling broken.

"Yes, I saw. Bella isn't always very logical when she gets upset. Give her a while, then talk to her. That's the best advice I can give you Edward."

"What if she won't talk to me?" I whispered.

"She will."

"And if she won't?" I persisted.

Jessica sighed.

"Make her. Or give Alice a message to pass on. They've become pretty close again over the past few weeks, haven't they?"

"They have," I agreed. "Thank you."

"That's fine. You're good for Bella."

I was surprised by how much Jessica's approval meant to me. While I knew that she was one of Bella's closest friends, I hadn't realised that she'd bother helping a guy like me. Maybe I had miss-judged Jessica Stanley entirely. It was a subject I pondered as I headed to my last lesson, which just had to be gym.

Of course, I had forgotten that I had gym with Mike, who had spent the weeks I'd known him throwing insults about my parents at me, which annoyed the fuck out of me. That day was no different, just a little bit more persistent. I was, in all honesty, ready to hit him, but I guessed that wouldn't help matters.

"You know," he whispered. "Once you're done with Bella, maybe I could have a go. I sure want to tap that fucking beautiful ass. I bet it feels so good when she's around you, all h-"

I hit him.

I was unable to take it. He was being so fucking rude, talking about Bella's sexual appeal in that derogatory manner, and he was whispering right in my ear. Not only was he insulting my dead parents, whom he'd never known, but he was insulting my girlfriend. Before I knew what I was doing, my right hand was clenched into a fist, and I was taking a swing at him.

"Fuck!" he roared, clutching his nose.

"Shut up," I growled.

Then I was being pummelled by a very angry Mike Newton. I warded off most of his blows, but he still managed to get a couple of hits in. I knew I'd have a couple of bruises, but it was worth it. The bastard couldn't go around talking shit about my girl like that. He just couldn't.

"Stop!" screamed a voice that I didn't immediately recognise. "Stop it! The principle will be called out! Stop it!"

I felt a hand tug me backwards, and found myself face to face with Jane. I didn't think I'd eve had a conversation with the girl before. Hell, I doubted I'd ever exchanged a 'hello' with her. I shot her a glare though, and opened my mouth to speak and defend myself. Jane shook her head at me, fiercely.

"I heard what he said Cullen. He was trying to provoke you, you know that?" she snapped.

"I-"

"What on Earth is going on here?" roared the furious voice of the principle.

That was when reality set in. I'd just been caught fighting with somebody on school premises. Now I expected that Carlisle and Esme would be called in, and I'd probably end up suspended for weeks. My aunt and uncle would be disappointed in me, and I didn't even want to imagine what Bella's reaction would be when she heard.

Fuck.

I'd messed up.

Before I had too much time to wallow in self-pity, I was being stalked up to the principle's office, along with a furious Mike, who was sporting a bloody nose. Good. I was sat down, and the principle demanded to know what on Earth had happened. When I spoke and told him of what Mike had said, Mike immediately contradicted me.

"I would never say that! He just hit me!"

The principle shot him a dark look, and Jane backed up my story. Myself and Mike were given a lecture about fighting, and he said that our parents would be called in. Mike snorted at the term, but I ignored him. He'd provoked me enough that day, and I had a feeling that both Carlisle and Esme would lecture me on it.

Esme walked in half an hour later, followed by Mrs. Newton, who immediately began fussing over her son.

"Oh Mike! What on Earth happened to you? Are you ok?" she cried.

I snorted very quietly, and she threw me a cold glare. Esme rolled her eyes at Mrs. Newton, and the principle quietly briefed them on what had happened. Mrs. Newton defended her son, but was quickly shot down. The principle then said that we'd both be suspended for a few days. He told myself and Mike that we would have the rest of the week off. I hung my head in shame.

Esme walked me to her little Audi in silence, and I climbed in, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

"Edward?" she asked, her tone gentle.

"Yes?" I whispered.

"While I don't normally condone fighting, it was honourable of you to defend Bella's honour. Next time though, fight with words."

I was shocked once again. I'd only ever been in a situation like that one once before, and I was told, in no uncertain terms, that it would be the last. My father had been furious, and my mother distraught, and her was Esme telling me that what I'd done was honourable. I was astounded.

"Will your friends wonder where you are?"

"Probably," I said.

"You can text them you know. I'm not going to confiscate your phone."

She smiled at me, and, tentatively, I smiled back.

"Thank you," I said, and pulled out my phone to tell my friends what ad happened.

"I'll tell Carlisle what happened," Esme said. "But I'm sure he'll say what I've just said."

Quietly, I told Esme about what my father had said last time I'd hit another guy because he'd insulted my girlfriend.

"Admittedly, he wasn't as rude," I said. "And I was only fifteen."

"Some people have different outlooks on these things, Edward. If you'd hit Mike because he'd called Bella an idiot, I would be lecturing you on fighting. But he was horrible about her."

"And about my parents," I murmured.

"What?" she asked, clearly shocked.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I told Esme about what Mike had said regarding my parents. She was utterly furious, to say the least, and she spent the remainder of the journey ranting about what a prat he was. I couldn't really blame her, but I hadn't realised she'd care that much. From what I was told, she barely knew my parents. Perhaps she was more upset for my sake.

We pulled up in the driveway, and Esme told me that she'd be working for a couple of hours, but that she'd be at home. I thanked her, for everything, and then headed upstairs to get some of my homework done. We had a shitload of Spanish, but, thankfully, no calculus.

At about half past four, my phone rang. I checked the caller ID, and saw that it was Jasper.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey man. You ok? I heard about what happened."

Of course he had.

Small town and all that.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Pissed, but ok. And worried."

"Why're you worried?" asked a singing voice in the background. Alice.

Sighing, I told the couple about what had happened in biology. Both were angry with Victoria, and called her some rather creative and rather rude names. I wondered if they were at Bella's house, or Jasper's. I assumed the latter, else Bella wild have told Alice about what ad happened in biology.

"That must be why Bella looked so angry and upset," Jasper said.

My heart clenched at his words. I didn't want her to be angry or upset.

"Alice," I began, slowly. "Could you... talk to Bella? She didn't seem very happy about what happened, and I'm worried that she thinks I encouraged Victoria in any way. I didn't."

"Of course I will," Alice said. "Bella will come round, and if she doesn't, I'll push her in the right direction. She gets like this when she's upset."

I laughed at Alice despairing tone, and thanked the both of them. Honestly, friends were the best things ever. We hung up, and I turned back to my work. As I finished my Spanish, my thoughts returned to Bella. I really hoped that I hadn't messed up before I'd really had the chance to win her heart.

Because, in all honesty, I was half-way to loving her already.


	13. Chapter 13-Fucking Hell

**A/N**

**Alright, alright!**

**I know you've hardly had any time to digest the last two chapters before you're getting another, but I've got a very calm week, amazingly. Half of the teachers have disappeared, giving us free periods all around, and so it's giving me plenty of time to sit in the common room and write. What else would I do with all of this time?!**

**Enjoy!**

**Lucy xX**

Bella's POV

Returning to school after our bubble of pleasure the previous evening was not pleasant. Although, being alone for an hour in English gave me a chance to get back into the general swing of school. By the time biology rolled around after lunch, not only did our date seem like a lifetime ago, but I was we'll and truly pissed. Victoria was taking everything too fucking far.

Edward calmed me down considerably as I ate, despite my snapping at him several times, and by the time we reached the biology classroom, Jessica walking with us, I was ready to melt into him and kiss him senseless. The man was too damned sexy for his own good.

Of course, all of this flew out of the window when I saw Victoria sitting in my seat. Edward sat down, seeming not to notice Victoria, who looked incredibly happy. Edward turned to Victoria, and appeared shocked. My mouth had fallen open, and I had to work very hard not to slap the bitch silly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I hissed at Victoria.

"Sitting next to my boyfriend," she replied.

Edward's mouth fell open. Though it was illogical, I worried, momentarily, about it being true. Immediately, I pushed the thoughts away. Edward wouldn't cheat on me. He wasn't like that. I was, however, hurt that he was still sitting down next to the idiot. Stupid, I know.

"That's a fucking lie," Edward said.

"No," Victoria replied. "It's not."

I wasn't entirely sure why, but the whole thing upset me far more than it should have done. I felt utterly betrayed, yet again. I'd fallen for Edward Cullen, and he was hurting me already. Blinking back tears, I walked away from the desk and sat down at the back next to somebody else, not registering Edward's upset, questioning glance and Mike's smug gaze.

I vaguely saw Edward talking to Jessica, both appearing a little upset, and I definitely noticed Mike looking over his shoulder at me seal times, but I wasn't interested. I didn't care what the bastard had to say. If he thought that just because Edward had messed up, I'd go to him, he was wrong. I cared for Edward, no matter want he did, and Mike had been horrible to him, and others. I wasn't going to fall for him. Ever.

Mr. Banner walked in, and began the lesson. I bent my head over my book, not wanting Edward - or anybody else - to see the tears that were in my eyes. I wiped at them angrily, and saw Edward move his chair away from Victoria, and then the latter move her chair closer to him again. Damn, I hated her.

I knew that Victoria liked Edward - hell, she'd been spouting shit about him forever, what with the shit in the lunch hall and him being her secret boyfriend - but I didn't realise that she was a delusional, cunning bitch. Because she'd caught us unaware, and now I was paying for my mistake. I'd fallen for Edward's charm, and I shouldn't have done. Now I was paying the price.

Finally, the lesson ended, and I threw my shit into my bag, standing up quickly. I saw Edward heading towards me, looking worried and upset. What the fuck did he have to be upset about? I clenched my jaw angrily and averted my eyes. Unfortunately, he still walked up to me.

"Bella, I-"

"Save it Edward," I snapped.

Mike walked up to me, brushing Edward aside. Edward looked horrified at the attention the other guy was giving me, and I had no fucking idea why. Maybe I was blowing the whole incident out of proportion, but whatever. I tended to do that a lot. I blew everything out of proportion, constantly.

"Bella," Mike was saying in a sickly voice. "It's ok. Edward clearly isn't good enough for you. I, for example, would never, ever betray you like that."

And so his awful talk went on and on and freaking on. I tuned it out easily, being accustomed to Alice's inane chatter, but I most definitely did notice that he was walking too close to me for comfort. When his fingertips brushed my ass twice, I felt anger flare up inside of me, and I turned to him, glaring.

"Get lost Mike!"

He glared back at me, and turned on his heel, heading towards the gym.

Feeling rather distraught, I headed into the art classroom and sat down beside Angela, who was doodling. Tanya looked up at me, appearing worried, and Jane shot me a confused glance. I smiled slightly at them, but I knew that it was both terribly unconvincing and half-hearted. I seated myself beside Angela, and told her about what had happened.

"You're blowing this way out of proportion Bella," she said as we worked on our self-portraits.

"I do that," I muttered.

"Seriously though, Edward hasn't really done anything wrong, has he?"

"He could have told Victoria to get the fuck out of my seat," I snapped.

Angela raised an eyebrow at me.

"Bella, please calm down. Yes, I suppose he could have done, but be realistic - that's not Edward. He's not the kind of person that would do that. That's not how he was brought up."

I sighed at her perfect reasoning.

"You're right, I suppose," I admitted. "But I can't help it. I still feel upset."

"You're perfectly entitled to your emotions Bella, but you need to talk to Edward. This is all getting very out of hand."

I knew she was right.

The lesson ended, and the two of us cleared up our stuff and left our unfinished paintings on the front of the classroom to dry. Angela's was by far the best in the class. I wished I could paint like Angela did - she truly was master of her paintbrush. Together, we headed into the parking lot, talking quietly.

Immediately, I noticed that Rose was standing by Edward's Volvo, rather than next to Emmett's Jeep, which was several spaces down. I watched her and Emmett kiss, and then Emmett headed back to his car and Rose climbed into Edward's. Alice and Jasper were also standing by Emmett's Jeep, and were talking quickly, concerned expressions on their faces.

"What the hell?" I murmured.

"I have no idea," Angela said.

We walked up to Edward's beautifully clean, silver Volvo quickly, and I tapped on the window of the driver's side, where Rose was sitting, without Edward anywhere near her. I wondered what on Earth was going on. Maybe Edward had decided to go home with Victoria, and had asked Rose to drive his car home. The thought created a vile, bitter taste in my mouth.

"What's going on Rose?" I asked.

"Haven't you heard?" she asked, with a slightly worried grin.

"No."

"Go ask Alice, I need to get home."

With that, she drove off.

By half nine, I was back to being utterly, fucking pissed. This time, not with Edward - well, I was still pissed with him, but not so much - but at Alice. She refused to pick up her bloody phone when I called her, and she was still out with Jasper. How was a girl meant to know what had happened to make Edward leave his car if her sister wouldn't tell her?

I was beyond annoyed.

Then, just to fucking top things off, my mother called.

"Hello?" I sighed as I answered.

"A little more enthusiasm for your mother, please," Renee bitched.

"Hello mother, nice to hear from you too. How are you Bella? I'm fine, thanks so much for asking," I said sarcastically.

"You will not take that tone with me."

"Cut to the chase mother," I snapped.

"I've married Phil."

"Are you divorcing him yet?" I asked.

There was a snarl from the other end of the phone, but honestly, I didn't care. My mother had married five - now six - times since divorcing my father, and every single one had ended in a messy legal argument over money, usually caused by my mother. I suspected that she'd have a new boy-toy of twenty by the time I finished high school.

"Just being realistic," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I want you, Bella, to move to Florida with us."

What. The. Fuck. Was she actually kidding me? Not only was she trying to split me away from the life I'd built in Forks since I was first born, but it sounded like she was trying to split me away from my twin and my father. And my boyfriend. And my other friends. I was not going to let my mother walk all over my life like that.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my voice trembling with rage.

"I want you to move to Florida with me. Alice is clearly less effected by Forks than you are, but I don't really want my daughter to grown up like Charlie. There's this perfect school in Florida you can go to, and Phil knows a great guy that you could go out with, unlike that God-awful Jacob-"

"No," I snapped.

"What?" my mother screeched.

"I said no. As in, no, I'm not moving to Florida with you."

"Isabella, you cannot possibly live in that dump any longer. Look at what Charlie is turning you in to! You can come to Forks, and Phil and I will adopt you into the family. You can leave behind your boyfriend and friend, a-"

"No!" I shouted. "No. No, no, no! If you bothered to keep any kind of contact with me, other than when it suits you, or if you bothered to take a fucking interest in your daughter's life, then you'd know that I've broken up with Jacob, ad rekindled my relationships with Angela and Rose. Or did you even know that I made friends with other people?"

"Language Bella," my mother said curtly. "Who is this new boyfriend?"

"Edward Cullen."

"Cullen? Pah! Related to Carlisle and Esme? Good God Bella, what shit have you got yourself into?"

Renee laughed, I scowled.

"Honestly, Phil knew a few Cullens when he lived in Phoenix. They-"

"What does your husband know about Edward?" I snarled, and immediately regretted it.

"What? I said he knew some Cullens, not your Cullens."

No going back now...

"Edward lived in Phoenix, until his parents were killed by a drunk driver. He's the nephew of Carlisle and Esme. His parents were called Elizabeth and Edward, if it'll help to jog your memory," I said, my voice cold.

Clearly, this Phil Dwyer knew something of Edward's parents, and I'd be damned if I didn't find out what. According to Charlie, they never found out who killed them. I'd forgotten that I was meant to be angry with Edward in my fury at Renee. My mother had that affect. She put everything nicely into perspective for me. Ie, she was the worst problem in my life. I was sure she felt the same about me.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for several minutes.

"I see that you moving to Florida is not happening," Renee said quietly. "Goodbye."

"No you don't mother! What do you know about Edward's parents? What does Phil know?"

I was shouting, and then Renee hung up the phone. I screamed and threw the phone down. Gosh, I was being damned emotional! First that thing with Edward, which I still needed to resolve, then moving to Florida, and now screaming because my mother hung up on me. Whatever next?

"Bella?" asked the surprisingly gentle voice of my father. "You ok?"

I took a deep breath and turned to face my father.

"You know about Elizabeth's and Edward senior's case, right?"

"Yes."

Carefully, I told my father about the conversation I'd just had with Renee. Charlie looked a little upset to think that Renee would have something to do with their deaths, and, to be honest, I felt the same. I did say, though, that I thought Phil Dwyer knew more than Renee did. Charlie assured me that he'd look into it.

"Oh, and your sister just gave me a message over the phone."

"About time," I said.

Charlie grinned at me.

"She said that her cell died, which is why she hasn't contacted you. She also said that Rose was taking Edward's car home because he was suspended."

"What?" I asked, my mouth falling open.

"Alice said something about him hitting Mike Newton because he was insulting you."

My heart softened and ached. My guy had defended me, and in doing so had gotten himself suspended. I put a hand over my mouth in horror, and stared up at Charlie. Edward could have been hurt by Mike. I doubted he was, else Alice would have specifically said that, but still... It was and incredibly sweet yet incredibly stupid thing to do.

"I need to go see him," I said.

"You do that," Charlie said. "You've got yourself a good guy Bella."

I smiled at my Dad, and raced downstairs.

I had a boy to go see.

Twenty minutes later, I was wrapped in a hug from Esme as soon as the door opened. She told me that Edward was sulking in his room, and so I headed upstairs to find him. I felt slightly guilty about my behaviour earlier in the day, and I knew that we'd have to talk about it.

"Edward?" I murmured as I knocked on his door.

"Come in," he called, then gasped when he saw me.

I gasped too. He had one bruise forming on his cheek. I ran over to him and threw myself into his arms, peppering his face with kisses and hitting his chest and shoulders at the same time. The shook my head at him, and Edward seemed incredibly bewildered by the mixed messages I was sending him.

"You stupid idiot Edward Cullen!" I cried. "You stupid, stupid idiot!"

"Bella, please stop hitting me," Edward said, grabbing my wrists in his hands.

That was when I broke down in tears. Edward gathered me close, sitting me in his lap, and encircled me with his arms, rocking us back and forth gently. Edward had seen me cry more in the past month than anybody else had in my entire life, and I really didn't care. That thought scared me more than a little bit.

Eventually, my tears ceased.

"That is the most idiotic, yet the sweetest thing any guy has ever done for me," I said, wiping at my tears impatiently.

Edward's face hardened.

"He was being so rude about you," Edward said, slightly defensively.

I cupped his cheek with one hand.

"While it's romantic that you defended my honour, please don't get yourself hurt over me," I begged him.

"I'm making no promises," Edward said. "But I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," I said. "About earlier. I shouldn't have acted like I did. I tend to blow these things way out of proportion, and I hurt you by doing that. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok," Edward said, cupping my face this time.

"No, it's not ok. But I am sorry."

"While I was mildly jealous of Mike, I think I'll get over it," Edward said, smirking at me.

Cocky bastard.

"I can think of a few ways to help you get over it," I said against his lips.

He let out a soft moan, and I nipped his lower lip. His hands went to my waist, and mine found purchase in his hair. Edward let out a slight groan as our tongues met, and the vibrations ran all the way through my body, causing me to let out my own moan. For a man with very little experience in kissing, he was incredibly good at it. It was one of the many reasons I loved him.

The enormity of what I'd just thought hit me like a ton of bricks. _I loved Edward._

Loved him?

I cared for him, certainly. He had helped me turn into who I wanted to be, he knew me better than I knew myself, and I trusted him absolutely. But love him? I realised, with a jut, that I very well could love Edward. He made me feel like laughing when I wanted to cry, and he knew when I needed silence.

I loved Edward Cullen.

The thought fuelled our kiss, and sent it to new, passionate heights.

I loved Edward Cullen.

And I really hoped he loved me too.

If he didn't, I was pretty sure I'd loose it.

_I'd given him my heart and soul without even realising it._


	14. Chapter 14-Liars

**A/N**

**Hello... Yet again. Are any of you actually surprised that I'm updating again?! Let me assure you, this is a bit of a one-off. I'm surprised myself at the amount of time I've got on my hands, but I'm definitely not complaining. Are you? I hope not! Slightly longer chapter than usual. A little more drama going on! Ok, a lot more drama going on. That's ok, right?!**

**Enjoy!**

**Lucy xX**

Edward's POV

Lie

A false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.

Liar

A person who tells lies.

And that right there defined the thing I hated most in this world. Liars. While there isn't a person alive that can say, in all honesty, that they have never told a lie, there are lies and lies. You can lie to your parents about being out at a party, or being out at the park. You can lie to your girlfriend about being a virgin. You can lie to your friends about how much you read.

And then you can lie about where you were on the Thursday that changed my life.

It wasn't until the end of October that Bella told me about the conversation she'd had with her mother. She promised that she hasn't been keeping it from me - not when it could be so important - but just that, until then, nothing had come of it, and she'd forgotten all about the incident. Being her boyfriend, I believed her.

But so, exactly three months after the accident which killed my parents and changed my life, I was sitting in the Swans' living room, Bella curled into my side shamelessly and Charlie seated in his recliner, glancing at his daughter which barely-concealed fury. Clearly, Charlie wasn't all that impressed with our seating arrangements.

When Bella had first told me, earlier that Saturday, about her conversation with her mother, and her speculations that her mother's fiancée, husband, whatever, had some knowledge of the 'accident' that killed my parents, I'd been incredibly distressed. Who wouldn't be? I was told they were killed by a drunk driver in a hit and run, and that was all there was to it. Now my girlfriend was telling me that something more sinister was going on?

I'd spent a good fifteen minutes ranting, pacing and tugging at my hair, before Bella had implored me to calm down a bit. That, of course, made me snap, for which I immediately apologised. Bella, being the beautiful - inside and out - girl she was, waved off my apology and told me that it was totally understandable. I wasn't convinced.

Charlie cleared his throat, snapping me promptly from my reminiscing. He held a thick wad of papers in his hand, which I suspected would have been on a single laptop were I still in Phoenix, but it didn't matter. Doing everything by hand, according to Carlisle, often made investigations more thorough. He said that due to computers and the size of the city, investigators in Phoenix may have missed something.

"So," Charlie began, putting on his best 'Chief Swan' voice. "We've looked into this Phil Dwyer. According to records, as far back as we can trace them, he's always lived in Phoenix. He's actually twenty-seven, not twenty-three, as Renee believes him to be." I felt Bella tense next to me, and I squeezed her hand. Despite Renee's apparent horrible behaviour, she was still her mother.

"Phil booked a flight out to Florida, where he supposedly met Renee, six months ago. He came back a week later, and hasn't left since. Expect-" Here Charlie paused and leafed through his papers. "Renee is under the impression that he's with her, in Florida, and hasn't been back to Phoenix since they met, except to pick up some clothes at around the time of your parents' accident."

"So are you telling me that Renee has married some guy pretending to be Phil Dwyer? And this fake Phil is four years older than the real Phil, whoever that is?" Bella asked.

Charlie nodded.

"That's the conclusion I came to. So we began to research fake Phil. Renee gave us his place of work - she has no idea that he's being investigated - and we looked him up. He didn't exist two years ago. Fake Phil was traced back another three years, and was found under the name of Demitri Caius. He too only existed for two years, before he was, supposedly, killed in a gang attack. He was also charged with various offences, from theft to murder. Obviously, he didn't die though. As far as we can trace him, back to when he was twelve years old, his name is actually James Trakker. He was born in New York, and moved to Texas when his parents divorced. That was after his seventh birthday. His mother died when he was fourteen, and he then turned criminal, from what we can tell, and has constantly been on the run from the law since, changing his identity as he goes.

"We didn't inform Renee that she was living with such a dangerous man for a few days, as we still wanted to see what this man knew of your parents, Edward, and Renee could prove to be invaluable. At first, when we asked her for whatever information she had regarding James Trakker and his links to the Cullens, she refused to speak, until we threatened her with obstruction of justice. She then sang like a bird.

"She said that she didn't know very much, but that Trakker had told her that he knew the Cullens well-"

"No," I said coldly. "He didn't. I've never even heard of Phil Dwyer. Or Demitri Caius or James Trakker or whatever his name is now," I spat. Bella squeezed my hand gently, and I squeezed back tightly. The whole thing was working me up rather a lot, and was making me want to hit something. Preferably Trakker, but Mike would be a decent substitute.

"We know he didn't, son," Charlie said, his voice surprisingly gentle for one that appeared so gruff. My pounding heart calmed slightly at his tone, and Bella shot her father an approving look. "Renee then told us that according to Trakker, he was out one night, drunk, and had swerved right in front of a couple while driving. He said that he didn't think he'd hit them, and didn't remember any of it by the time he woke up. Apparently, when he heard about their death through a 'friend', the memories resurfaced. According to her, that's all there is to it. I must say, I believe her."

Charlie paused, but I could see Bella next to me, tense and thoughtful. Apparently there was something on her mind. I nudged her gently, wondering what was going on inside of her fascinating mind, but I got no response. Charlie was also watching his daughter, but his calling of her name got a reply.

"He's called James?" she asked.

"Yes," Charlie replied.

"Victoria, Victoria Hunter, has been caught by both myself and Jessica talking to somebody called 'James'. I'm not saying he's the same guy, but it couldn't hurt to look into it, right?"

"We will look into it, definitely," Charlie said, nodding briskly.

"Do you really believe that Trakker has nothing to do with Elizabeth and Edward senior?" Bella asked, looking doubtful.

"I didn't say that. I said that that's all Renee knows. We dug a little deeper into Trakker, and where he was that night. He was nowhere near where your parents were reported to have been killed, Edward. He was nearby the Olive and Ivy restaurant, which-"

"That's where my parents where going that night," I whispered, covering my mouth. What in God's name was this Trakker guy doing where my parents were going out for their anniversary? I had a sneaky feeling, judging by the look on Charlie's face, that he had the answer, and that I'd be finding out in a moment.

"I could have saved myself a lot of trouble by just asking you where they were going," Charlie said with a laugh. "Anyway, according to CCTV, he left the area a few hours later. He'd parked out of shot of the camera, but there was blood on his car.

"We asked the doctors in Phoenix for a full account of the injuries that had been found on your parents, and the cause of death that had been determined. While the many broken bones and dislocated joints, along with the bloodied flesh around-"

"Dad!" Bella snapped, her voice cold. I felt my throat tighten as Charlie listed many of the injuries that had been found on my parents' bodies, and Bella wrapped me in a gentle hug. I refused to let myself cry in front of Bella and her father, despite the fact that I'd seen Bella cry several times. It made me feel pathetic, crying. Instead, I buried my face in Bella's strawberry-scented curls, and took slow breaths as her hand ghosted across my back.

"Sorry Edward," Charlie said once I disentangled myself from his daughter, looking a little sheepish. "Anyway, while the majority of their injuries fitted those that would be seen after being run over, Carlisle took a look at the photographs taken, and said that they weren't enough to kill somebody. He also identified, after many painstaking hours, a bullet wound in each of them."

I sucked in a sharp breath, and Bella gasped beside me. My parents had been shot. Not run over in an accident with a drunk-driver, as I'd been lead to believe. It seemed that Carlisle had been right. Due to carelessness, and reliance in technology, this had almost gone unnoticed. If it hadn't been for Renee's slip, and Bella immediately picking up on it, of have lived my entire life believing the life.

I hated liars.

I always had, but I hated James Trakker with a fierceness I didn't even know I possessed.

I wanted revenge.

But I wouldn't turn myself into a vile, barbaric killer over the matter. That would make me as bad as him. That was why we had the law - to punish those that deserved punishing, with the punishment they deserved. It was a way to take revenge, but in a way that fitted the crime.

"So my mother's husband killed my boyfriend's parents?" Bella asked, sounding utterly astounded.

I didn't miss Charlie's flinch when Bella said the word 'boyfriend'.

"It seems so," Charlie murmured.

"That is so messed up," Bella said flatly, causing me to choke out a strangled laugh.

"Of course, as soon as we found this out, we told Renee about what we had found. It would be vile to keep something of that magnitude from her. She was living with a dangerous person, and she needed to know. So we rung her up yesterday, almost immediately after Carlisle had confirmed what he thought he'd found. When Renee picked up though, and we told her, she said to us that Trakker had disappeared three days beforehand.

"It seems that Trakker has done a runner. Somebody must have tipped him off about this - somebody with inside connections."

"Victoria," Bella said instantly. "She lives here, and her father is part of the computer maintenance team at the police station. She could have gotten hold of the information."

"That's definitely a possibility," Charlie agreed. "Again, we'll look into it."

"Bare in mind," Bella said. "It's pure speculation on my part."

"Trust your gut Bells," Charlie said, some of his 'police voice' diminishing. "That's all we know, I'm afraid. While we could now arrest Trakker and easily press charges against him, we have no idea where he is. We'll do our best to find out what we can, but, ultimately, this case is in the hands of the detectives in Phoenix. We're just nudging them along."

"Thank you, Charlie," I said. I really meant it as well.

"You're welcome Edward. I'm heading back to the office now. You kids going out?"

I could tell from his tone of voice that Charlie really wanted the answer to his question to be yes. Presumably, he wanted us somewhere with lots of people and no privacy. He'd gone from cop to over-protective father in a matter of seconds. Personally, I thought it was great that Charlie looked out for his daughter so much. Many parents wouldn't. But Bella clearly didn't agree with me, as she was glaring at her father.

"Probably not," she said.

"Really? Nice day like today? Don't you want to go out to the movies or something?" he asked, clearly trying to be smooth. I had to hold back a snicker at Charlie's worried expression, but I didn't particularly want to be shot. While I wasn't planning on desecrating his daughter then, I wanted to be alive for when I did.

"No," Bella said, stubbornly.

"There's a new romantic comedy out, you know. It's meant to be-"

"Rubbish. We've seen it," Bella said.

Like father like daughter. Both were being incredibly stubborn.

"Go to work Dad. We're not going to do anything," Bella said, blushing slightly but looking incredibly hot, standing there with an angry, defiant expression on her beautiful face and her hands resting on her hips as she stared down her father. Finally, Charlie relented, and gave us a grumbled goodbye.

I turned to Bella, who was picking up random wrappers I hadn't even noticed, which had been strew across the floor, angrily. She snatched up each one and stuffed them into her left hand, letting fly many curse words and many not-so-polite expressions. When I called out her name, she turned her angry gaze to me.

"Bella, what on Earth has you so angry?" I asked, my voice soft. I didn't want to incure her wrath upon myself. I'd done that once, after hitting Mike Newton, and she'd ended up hitting me, while she kissed every inch of my face she could reach. That had made me exceedingly confused, to say the least.

Bella sighed, and flopped onto the sofa. I sat down beside her and took her hands in mine. For a moment, she said nothing, and just looked down at our joined hands. I followed her gaze, and noticed, for the first time, how much larger my hands were than hers. I smiled slightly at the image.

"I'm ready for the shit to be over with," she whispered. "I've had shit from Jacob, and shit from Victoria. Then just when I think it's dying down, Victoria shit comes back up, and we get James shit added into the mix."

"I feel exactly the same way," I said, tracing circles on the back of her hands. "But if going through shit means that they find whoever murdered my parents in cold blood, I'll do it. I do wish you didn't have to go through it too."

"If I want to be a part of your life, I have to go through it," Bella said, looking up at me with a completely open expression. This was Bella, raw and open to me, not hiding anything. I loved that about her. I loved her. I knew I loved her, but seeing her look at me like that only reaffirmed my feelings. I never wanted Bella to feel like she wished to hide anything - anything at all - from me. I hoped she felt the same way, but there was no reason for her to.

"I know," I said. "And you have no idea how grateful I am that you are a part of my life."

Bella's expression softened, and she reached up to cup my cheeks.

"I wish I'd met your parents. Anybody that brought up a boy as well as they brought up you deserves a medal," she murmured.

I smiled sadly at the thought.

"I wish you'd met them too. My mother particularly."

"Why your mother particularly? I'm sorry," Bella said quickly. "You don't have to answer that. That was insensitive of me, I shouldn't-"

"Bella," I murmured fondly. "You're rambling. It's ok. My mother particularly because for seventeen years she meant more to me than anybody else in the world. She was as loving as Esme, and as compassionate as Carlisle. Her cooking left little to be desired. Her obsession with rugs and quilts was questionable," I said, remembering my father and I despairing over the things my mother purchased to adorn out house. "But I loved her. She knew me perfectly, and she gave me awesome advice. She respected my decisions.

"While I loved my father too, he was more interested in turning me into a 'man' than turning me into a respectable person, with the hobbies I wanted to have. My mother bestowed her slightly old-fashioned manners upon me, which my father thought was a waste of time. Surprisingly, though, it was my father that taught me how to play the piano. My mother didn't disapprove of it, per say, but she didn't think I'd like it. I did, though. My father also taught me Latin. Though both of my parents are - were, American, both ad English parentage. Both their mothers were English, and moved to America in the late sixties. I remember my grandmother, on my father's side, giving me her engagement ring when she died. She told me to give it to the woman that captured my heart." I took a deep, shaking breath.

"I have very little of my father. I have very little of my mother either, but I have less of my father. He didn't collect things, at all. Both of their wedding rings were ruined when they died, but I was given my mother's locket, in which was a photograph of their wedding day, and a photograph of them in London, outside the Houses of Parliament.

"When I heard how they were supposed to have died, , I thought I was just really, fucking unlucky. Now I'm wondering whether I've done something in some fucking last life to piss off God almighty." I barked out a humourless laugh. "Hell, I don't even believe in God. There's no way God would let buggers like Trakker live. Or maybe he would, just to punish unfortunate idiots like myself that believe they'll always have family, and people that care for them. I fucking relied on my parents, and girly and pathetic as that sounds, and some bastard has murdered them for the fucking pleasure of it."

I had no idea when I'd become so bitter about the whole thing, but I sure as hell felt like punching something. Repeatedly. I wanted to scream and shout about how unfair life was. I wanted to tear my hair out and cry for hours, just to release anger which ad built up inside me. Anger I didn't even know I held.

I buried my face in my hands and fell forwards, my elbows resting on my knees. My body shook as I sobbed into my hands, and I cursed myself repeatedly as I tried to pull myself together, and get my emotions under control. I didn't want Bella to see me loosing control like I was. She made me more confident in who I was, but that didn't mean I wanted her to see me ripped in half.

Then, just to make me feel even worse, I felt a small, warm hand run itself gently, soothingly, along my back, and then across the width of my shoulders. Feeling Bella comfort me made me feel even more guilty about showing her myself like this. But perhaps that was hypocritical. I didn't want Bella to hide her feelings from me, yet here I was doing the same. So I tried to let it go.

"Edward, it's ok," she murmured. "You're ok."

I felt Bella's arm drape itself around my shoulders, hugging me awkwardly, due to the position we were in. Carefully, I pulled my face away from my hands and looked sideways at Bella. Her face was impossibly soft and concerned, and my heart ached when I saw the depth of emotion in her deep chocolate eyes.

At the sight of her open expression, I allowed the tears that had been falling, hidden, into my hands to trickle down my cheeks again. Bella's arms came around me in a consoling embrace, and I wrapped my arms back around her and rested my head on her shoulder. Like a mother would her child, she rocked up back and forth on the sofa.

"Shh, baby, I'm here," she cooed in my ear.

I was beyond grateful to have Bella with me at that moment in time. I could let out every contradicting emotion I was feeling without being judged, and without being upset further. Bella truly was a marvel. Not even my own mother had been able to calm me that effectively, and at the thought my tears began to cease, and a small smile flashed across my face. I pulled away from Bella, and looked directly into her eyes.

"I swear to God, Bella, you are an angel. If my parents had seen that, they'd set about planning our wedding."

Of course, at the mention of a wedding, we both fell into momentary thought. A wedding, with Bella. I realised, at that moment, that I could perfectly imagine spending every morning of my life waking up beside a beautiful woman with soft, chestnut hair and deep mahogany eyes. I was seventeen, and had fallen hopelessly in love with a girl.

"Aren't mothers supposed to hate their sons' girlfriend?" Bella asked after a moment, smiling a little.

I grinned.

"Mine certainly wouldn't hate you. You make me happy, therefore she'd love you. You could have a third head for all she'd care."

Bella giggled.

"Your mother would love me?"

"Why wouldn't she? Carlisle and Esme both love you, I love you... Everybody I know with a brain loves you, so why would my mother be any different? Trust me, she-"

I cut myself off as I saw Bella's face. Tears had welled up in her eyes, and she looked utterly shocked. She looked like she'd stopped breathing, and both her hands had flown to cover her mouth as she stared at me with unwavering eyes. I thought back over what I'd said, but couldn't find anything that would upset her that much. At last she spoke.

"You love me?" she whispered.

_Well shit_. That wasn't at all how I'd imagined it coming out. What could I say? _No, I really don't love you Bella, I just pretended that I do and threw around the term carelessly?_ Well, that was probably what most teenage boys would mean when they said 'love', but it wasn't most teenage boys. I did love Bella. No going back now...

"Yes," I murmured. "Very much so. I love you, Bella Swan."

"I love you too, Edward Cullen," Bella whispered.

I was sure my heart had just popped out of my chest.

She loved me?

_She_ loved _me_?

_She loved me._

Our eyes met, and I drew her in for a long, lingering, sweet, sweet kiss. Our lips moved in perfect synch as we poured all of our emotions into it, and Bella's hands moved through my hair with the utmost gentleness, as mine traced light circles on her back. When at last we broke away, Bella's eye were glazed over, and I was sure I looked the same.

"I love you, Edward," she said.

"I love you too, Bella," I replied, smiling.

God, we were cheesy.

And neither of us cared.

We were young, and in love.

The thought brought a grin over my face.

Suddenly, the door clicked open loudly, and the unmistakable voices of Alice and Jasper wafted in, breaking the mood instantly. Bella scowled - which, admittedly, made her look damn sexy - and I ran two finger gently over her forehead to smooth our her expression. She relaxed under my touch, and we exchanged smiles.

Jasper raised an eyebrow at us when he walked into the living room, as though sensing the mood that had just been in the room between the two of us. Alice, of course, was still chatting nineteen to the dozen, and had failed to notice her boyfriend's expression. Honestly, the pixie was utterly mad.

"Oh hello Edward!" Alice sang, reaching over the sofa to hug me. I hugged her back awkwardly, one hand still clasped in both of Bella's, and she moved swiftly on to hug her sister. While Alice was amusing me, Bella didn't look so pleased about being interrupted. She was still scowling at her sister.

"Did we interrupt something?" Jasper asked, pulling Alice into his side to restrain her a little. Or a lot.

"Yes," Bella said.

"Ooh!" Alice cried, clapping her hands together. "I love romance!"

"Have you given her caffeine?" I asked Jasper, raising my own eyebrow.

"No, I'm innocent," he said.

"I'm just naturally hyper," Alice said.

"We know," my beautiful girl muttered.

"What did we interrupt?" Alice asked, looking like a kid in a candy store.

Bella merely glared fiercely at her sister. The rather terrifying expression was wasted on Alice though, as the pixie just jumped up and down impatiently. Apparently Alice had become immune to Bella's ice-cold looks. I remembered what I had once compared Bella to when she hashed it out with Victoria in the lunch hall. And icy angel. My Ice Angel.

"Why don't we tell them?" I murmured in her ear. "If only to restrain your sister?"

Bella sighed, then nodded.

"Bella?" I asked, turning my face to meet hers. "I love you. And I'm pretty sure you love me too."

Bella grinned at me.

"Edward, you cocky bastard, I love you too."

Alice squealed, though it was so, incredibly high-pitched that I swore only the cats and dogs of the town could have heard her. She began bouncing around and talking about our declarations of love at a hundred miles an hour. Bella groaned slightly, and I scooted over to her, pulling her small body into my side. Well, she wasn't small by any means - she was pretty talk for a girl - but I was quite tall for a guy. She fitted perfectly in the crook of my neck, and stood at just the right height.

"Why don't we go out tomorrow?" Jasper suggested suddenly, interrupting Alice. "That way Alice can interrogate you guys when you don't look like you're about to pass out. Honestly, you two look like shit."

Until it had been mentioned, I hadn't realised that I was, indeed, pretty tired. Bella told Jasper that we'd tell them why we were tired the following day. I assumed she was talking about what Charlie had revealed to us. Honestly, I was surprised Alice didn't already know. Then again, Bella hadn't known until then either.

"I'm gonna go now, Alice," Jasper said.

"Jazzy-"

"We can talk about Edwella tomorrow," he said, grinning.

"Edwella?" I snorted. "Goodbye, Jalice?" I suggested.

"Fine by me," Jasper said with a shrug.

"I should get going too, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked, turning back to the woman I loved.

"Of course," she replied. "Going more than a night without you is too long. And I'll shut up now because that sounded really, really corny."

We both laughed.

"Call me when you get home. I want to know you're ok," she whispered, reaching up a hand to cup my face.

"I'm sure I'll survive the journey home, but I'll call you anyway," I said, smiling. "See you tomorrow, Bella."

"Bye Edward. I love you."

"Love you too."

After driving home and spending ten minutes with Esme and Carlisle, I headed upstairs to my bedroom. I stripped out of my jeans and t-shirt, pulled on a clean pair of boxers and climbed into bed. I glanced at the clock, and realised that Bella could have gone to bed already. I picked up my phone to text her.

**Sweet dreams, sweet girl. **

I didn't care if it was cheesy. A moment later I got a text back.

**Goodnight Edward.**

The simple two words brought a stupid, massive smile to my face. God, I felt like a fool. A love-sick fool. But did being a fool really matter, when I had somebody like Bella in my life? Why nobody could replace my parents, and I would have sacrificed almost anything for them not to have died, moving to Forks had made me more secure in who I was, and had made me feel content with my life. I had fantastic friends, and a beautiful girlfriend, whom I loved, and whom loved me back.

While I'd give up a lot to have my parents back, I knew one thing for certain.

I wouldn't give up Bella.


	15. Chapter 15-Unexpected Visits

**A/N**

**What can I say? It's another update. Originally, I'd been planning to finish this story during NaNoWriMo, but at the rate I'm girl at the moment, I could have it done before then. If I do, it'd be fantastic, as I could begin to focus on 'Seducing the Good-Girl' properly. I'll admit, that story hasn't come as easily to me as I thought it would. But I'm going to finish that before I post anything else, including my NaNo story. This chapter is a bit of a filler, and is mostly recapping the last one in Bella's POV.**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

**Lucy xX**

Bella's POV

Hearing what Charlie had to say had really, really pissed me off. What kind of fucking bastard murdered a couple of innocent people in cold blood? And two innocent people with a son. However, selfishly, I was, in some ways, glad that Edward had moved to Forks. I couldn't imagine my life without him.

As Edward told me about his parents, I began to build up a mental picture of them. I could picture a slightly older, more gruff version of Carlisle, and a beautiful, young woman with Edward's auburn hair and deep green eyes. It was a wonder she and Esme weren't related. From what Edward said, they both had hearts of gold.

Then Edward's tone turned angry and bitter as he talked about his parents deaths, ad Trakker murdering them. It was so, so messed up. I wanted to console Edward, but I wasn't really sure how to. I'd never dated somebody like Edward, and I'd certainly never dated someone I loved. I had no idea what I was meant to be doing. I felt utterly hopeless.

Edward buried his face in his hands and fell forwards, his elbows resting on his knees. His body shook as he sobbed into his hands. I felt my heart break at the sight of him sitting there, so obviously upset and traumatised, and I just wanted to,wrap him in my arms and never let go. The position he was in didn't let me do that, so I did the next best thing.

Gently, I rubbed one hand up and down his back, and then across the width of his shoulders. I felt Edward stiffen, then relax again under my touch. I wanted to say something to him, but I wasn't sure what to say. What did you say to someone who's just found out that their parents have been shot? I gave it a shot anyway.

"Edward, it's ok," I murmured. "You're ok."

I draped my arm across Edward's shoulders, hugging him awkwardly with one arm, due to the position we were in. Slowly, Edward pulled his tear-stained face away from his hands and looked sideways at me. I felt my expression soften further as I looked down at my boyfriend's face.

As our eyes met, the tears that had clearly once run down Edward's cheeks fell again. I didn't usually deal well with guys crying, but I was surprisingly calm for Edward. Perhaps it was me putting my own feelings behind those of Edward. My arms came around him in a consoling embrace, and Edward wrapped his arms back around me and rested his head on my shoulder. Like a mother would her child, I rocked us back and forth on the sofa.

"Shh, baby, I'm here," I cooed in his ear.

For a few moments, we sat like that, my legs curled under me as I hugged and rocked Edward, and then, gradually, his tears ceased, and his body stopped shaking. I rubbed one hand over his back again in a soothing gesture, and then Edward lifted his head away from my shoulder at looked at me.

"I swear to God, Bella, you are an angel. If my parents had seen that, they'd set about planning our wedding."

I blushed slightly at the thought, but Edward didn't seem to notice. Hmm... To marry Edward... I realised, with a terrifying jolt of surprise, that the idea had merit. I could keep Edward forever. I could wake up next to the bronze-haired God I loved, and call him mine. I wouldn't have to worry about sharing him with anybody. Edward would be mine.

The more I thought about spending my life with Edward, the more I wanted it to become reality. I'd fallen hard for Edward - so hard that it was scaring me more than a little bit. I was already thinking in terms of forever! If my father heard my thoughts, he'd be horrified. He'd thought he'd fallen in love with my mother at sixteen, and look how well that turned out...

"Aren't mothers supposed to hate their sons' girlfriend?" I asked after a moment, smiling a little.

Edward grinned.

"Mine certainly wouldn't hate you. You make me happy, therefore she'd love you. You could have a third head for all she'd care."

I giggled. His mother sounded so sweet.

"Your mother would love me?" I asked.

"Why wouldn't she? Carlisle and Esme both love you, I love you... Everybody I know with a brain loves you, so why would my mother be any different? Trust me, she-"

Tears welled up in my eyes at his words, and my hands flew to my mouth in surprise. He loved me? Was it possible that Edward Cullen loved me as much as I loved him? Was it possible at all? Edward cut himself off and looked at me, his eyes filled with concern. Clearly, he hadn't realised what he'd said. With any normal teenager, I'd question the word 'love' for a long time, but not with Edward. He'd been brought up better than to throw around the term so carelessly.

"You love me?" I whispered at last.

Edward flushed as he realised what had shocked me so much, and I could see the cogs of his brain whirring. Maybe he didn't love me, and hadn't meant to say the word... That thought worried me more than I cared to admit, but I pushed it away. I wouldn't draw conclusions and upset myself until he'd spoken.

"Yes," he murmured. "Very much so. I love you, Bella Swan."

Edward Cullen loved me?

Edward Cullen loved me!

And I loved him.

"I love you too, Edward Cullen," I whispered in reply.

Edward stared at me more a moment, looking completely and utterly shocked. Apparently, he hadn't believed that I would return his feelings. I was once again surprised that a guy like Edward had only ever had one real girlfriend, for just a few weeks. Then again, I'd only had Jacob, and another on and off boyfriend a year before that...

Our eyes met, and Edward drew me in for a long, lingering, sweet, sweet kiss. Our lips moved in perfect synch as we poured all of our emotions into it, and my hands moved through Edward's hair with the utmost gentleness, as his traced light circles on my back. When at last we broke away, Edward's eyes were glazed over, and I was sure I looked the same.

"I love you, Edward," I said.

"I love you too, Bella," he replied, smiling.

God, I'd never tire of hearing those words.

Edward loved me.

Randomly, a grin broke over Edward's face, and I smiled back at him.

Suddenly, the door clicked open loudly, and the unmistakable voices of Alice and Jasper wafted in, breaking the mood instantly. I scowled. Did Alice have to come in just when we were expressing our love? It was so typical of my sister to break the mood. She and Emmett both had the worst timing known to mankind. Edward ran two fingers gently over my forehead to smooth out my expression. I relaxed under his touch, and we exchanged smiles.

Jasper raised an eyebrow at us when he walked into the living room, as though sensing the mood that had just been in the room between the two of us. Alice, of course, was still chatting nineteen to the dozen, and had failed to notice her boyfriend's expression. Honestly, the pixie was utterly mad.

"Oh hello Edward!" Alice sang, reaching over the sofa to hug my boyfriend. He hugged her back awkwardly, one hand still clasped in both of mine, and she moved swiftly on to hug me. I glared at my sister's head as I was hugged, and refrained from telling her to get the fuck out and leave us alone. Unfortunately, it was her house too.

"Did we interrupt something?" Jasper asked, pulling Alice into his side to restrain her a little. Or a lot.

"Yes," I snapped.

"Ooh!" Alice cried, clapping her hands together. "I love romance!"

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

"Have you given her caffeine?" Edward asked Jasper, raising my own eyebrow.

"No, I'm innocent," he said.

"I'm just naturally hyper," Alice informed us.

"We know," I muttered. She might have mentioned that a million times before.

"What did we interrupt?" Alice asked, looking like a kid in a candy store.

I merely glared fiercely at my sister.

"Why don't we tell them?" Edward murmured in my ear. "If only to restrain your sister?"

I sighed, then nodded.

"Bella?" Edward asked, turning his face to meet mine. "I love you. And I'm pretty sure you love me too."

I grinned at him.

"Edward, you cocky bastard, I love you too."

Alice squealed, though it was so, incredibly high-pitched that I swore only the cats and dogs of the town could have heard her. She began bouncing around and talking about our declarations of love at a hundred miles an hour. I groaned slightly, and Edward scooted over to me, pulling my body into his side.

"Why don't we go out tomorrow?" Jasper suggested suddenly, interrupting Alice. "That way Alice can interrogate you guys when you don't look like you're about to pass out. Honestly, you two look like shit."

Until it had been mentioned, I hadn't realised that I was, indeed, pretty tired. I told Jasper that we'd tell them why we were tired the following day. I was, of course, talking about what Charlie had revealed to us. I really wasn't in the mood to explain it all then. I just wanted to crash. Or, alternatively, kiss my guy senseless.

"I'm gonna go now, Alice," Jasper said.

"Jazzy-"

"We can talk about Edwella tomorrow," he said, grinning.

"Edwella?" Edward snorted. "Goodbye, Jalice?" he suggested.

"Fine by me," Jasper said with a shrug.

"I should get going too, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow?" Edward asked.

Obviously he'd see me tomorrow. I was, however, a little - or a lot - sad that he had to go. I hadn't realised that it was, in fact, pretty late, which explained Jasper and Alice's return. Still, I'd much rather Edward stayed all night, with me. I knew, however, that Charlie would never allow that.

"Of course," I replied instead. "Going more than a night without you is too long. And I'll shut up now because that sounded really, really corny."

We both laughed.

"Call me when you get home. I want to know you're ok," I whispered, reaching up a hand to cup his face.

"I'm sure I'll survive the journey home, but I'll call you anyway," Edward said, smiling. "See you tomorrow, Bella."

"Bye Edward. I love you."

"Love you too."

As soon as Jasper and Edward left through the front door, my sister turned to me.

"Renee phoned me today."

"Yeah? What did she say?"

"She's visiting."

Well shit...

Needless to day, when I told Edward of Renee's sudden plan to visit, he was worried. As was I. Charlie, however, didn't seem entirely bothered by it. This confused me greatly, as we both knew what Renee had been hiding for months, and who she had been living with, and yet Charlie didn't think there was anything strange about this upcoming visit.

And perhaps there wasn't.

But it still set me on edge.

And so, on the Sunday after declaring my love for Edward, myself and my sister were standing in the airport at Seattle, clutching at each other, and at our significant others. Originally, Alice and I had thought that it might be a bad idea to turn up with our boyfriends in tow, but as the time of Renee's flight drew closer Edward and Jasper sensed our uneasiness and insisted on coming with us.

What else were boyfriends for?

I had to admit, although holding onto my twin comforted me, holding onto Edward made me feel safe, and stronger. God, I was turning into one of those stupid, love-sick heroines I always snorted at. Perhaps romance books weren't as far-fetched as I'd always thought they were. I had to point that out to Emmett...

I was snapped from my thoughts when I caught sight of Renee over the heads of people in front of us. I stiffened, and Edward squeezed my hand reassuringly. Jasper too seemed to have spotted her, but Edward, despite his height, had no idea where she was, as he didn't know what she looked like. Poor Alice couldn't see above everybody else.

"Bella? Where is she?" Alice asked, her voice tight.

"She's just getting off the plane. She hasn't spotted us yet." Sighing, I waved to my mother as she looked in our direction, as she locked eyes with my own. From where she stood, Edward probably just looked like another, random boy at the airport. I doubted she realised that he was with myself and Jasper, whom she had just looked at with barely-concealed disgust.

"She still loves me I see," Jasper muttered.

"She'll leave you alone," Alice hissed, just as Renee reached us.

"Bella! Alice!" she cried, throwing her arms around us.

"Hello mother," I said.

"Hi Mom." Was Alice's slightly-better greeting.

"I haven't seen you for so long! I thought you were going to visit over the summer?"

"We were. You went on holiday, remember?" I said coldly.

"Don't be so rude, Isabella," my mother snapped.

"She's right, Mom," Alice said, her voice perfectly calm. Alice and Renee got on so much better than myself and Renee did. Alice's temper was far calmer than my own, and she had far more patience for Renee than I did. If possible, I'd put an end to our relationship entirely, but Charlie seemed to have some major problem about that.

"Details," Renee said dismissively. "Oh. You're still here then Jasper." My mother turned to Alice, who was boiling with rage. The one thing she did get furious about was my mother picking on Jasper, which she did often. "Honestly, you two are acting like you'll get married one day."

They probably would. I refrained from hitting my mother, but on,y because Edward tightened his grip on my hand, and laced his fingers through mine. Honestly, he was amazing. He knew exactly how to calm me down, and how to move my attention from one thing onto another.

"Who's this?" Renee asked, looking at Edward with disdain. This time I tightened my grip on his hand.

"Mom, this is Edward. Edward Cullen. I told you about him the other day. Edward, this is my mother, Renee Dwyer."

"Oh yes. The big with no parents," Renee said, laughing a little.

I was struck speechless by her rudeness, and I felt Edward tense and stiffen next to me. I wrapped my arm around his waist as Renee turned her insults to Jasper. Edward glanced down at me, and pulled me suddenly in for a hug. I was happy to hug him back, though I was slightly surprised when Edward kissed my cheek.

"I needed to calm myself down," he said quietly.

"I understand. I am sorry about Renee."

"It's not your fault your mother doesn't like me."

"She hates everybody. Myself included."

"I got that impression. Has she always hated Jasper?"

"Yes."

"Lucky us. I love you."

"I love you too."

Renee turned her eyes to us at that moment, and I unwrapped my arms from Edward's waist, and instead slipped my hand into his. Renee watched us as we all walked out to where we'd left the car, and I noticed that she'd made Jasper carry her enormous suitcase. Just how long was she planning on staying?

"You know," Renee said, sounding like Victoria in bitch-mode. "I'm surprised Charlie lets you lot spend so much time together. I'd I were looking after you, I'd limit your hours with boyfriends. It can't be healthy."

"Excuse me, mother?" I snarled, failing to reign in my temper.

"You heard, Isabella."

And so began the worst week of my fucking life.


	16. Chapter 16-Intrusions

**A/N**

**Alright folks. Here's your update. I must confess, the first half of this chapter didn't come easily to me, and it jumps around a bit. I've decided upon what's going to happen, roughly, during the final few chapters, and my first drafts have brought the total count to eighteen chapters, plus an epilogue. I'm aware that I originally said twenty, and an epilogue, but at the time I hadn't worked out what would happen - I was merely guessing how far my imagination would take me.**

**The worst thing you can do in a story is spin it out too far, and stretch your imagination to write about dull, mundane things, so I hope you aren't too upset by this slightly shorter story. The original idea for this was to have a 'bitchy' Bella, and a shy Edward, and to gradually merge them together, and make them both stronger characters from it. That's happened. **

**If you're looking for some more Twilight fan-fictions, then I suggest you head over to ElleCullen 's page. She's written some really good, tasteful work, which I stumbled upon totally by accident. She's written a fantastic story, which is in progress, called 'Coldhearted', which contains the rarely-seen Darkward. Edward Cullen has been turned into a 'real' vampire! It's a fantastic read, and if you're somebody that doesn't like reading several chapters flat to catch up with a story, it's only a few chapters in. Have a look, and leave her some feedback!**

**Of course, feedback for this chapter wouldn't go amiss either, so enjoy this chapter, and a comment with your thoughts, good or bad, would be much appreciated!**

**Lucy xX**

Edward's POV

After we returned from the airport, Bella asked Renee where she was staying, and Renee informed her that she had booked herself into some Forks Motel. I didn't even realise that the shack Jasper pulled up outside of classed as a motel. Hell, I'd thought it was just some abandoned old building. I was incredibly glad when Renee left the car.

By Monday morning, I was ready to ditch school. I'd come down with a cold over Sunday, and I felt like crap. Needless to say, however, seeing Bella in the parking lot made me forget my ailments. She too looked incredibly tired, and also incredibly angry. I wondered whether her mother had given her any shit.

I greeted my girl with a soul-searing kiss, which left my lips tingling and her eyes glazed over.

"Good morning to me," she said, looking up at me.

"Get a room kids!" Emmett hollered, causing both of us to roll our eyes.

"Morning, sweet girl."

"What was that for?" Bella asked.

"You looked like you needed cheering up," I said, kissing her delectable lips again, this time with a little more restraint. I saw Rose roll her eyes at us, and Alice was barely containing her excitement at seeing our interactions. Once upon a time, I'd never have considered kissing somebody in a public place, but since I'd met Bella, I began to care far less what other people thought of me. Family and friends, yes, but the idiots at Forks High? No.

"I do," Bella said, wrapping her arms more snugly around my waist. "I've had to listen to my mother lecture me about spending too much time with you."

"What? But she went into her hotel yesterday, didn't she? When was this? You didn't leave my house until gone seven o'clock."

"Yeah, I know." Bella sighed. "She turned up on Charlie's doorstep just before I was going to bed, at about ten. Charlie wasn't happy at all, needless to say. Renee insisted that she be allowed to talk to her daughters though, and Charlie let her, despite our protests. You can imagine what she said. You got a good enough idea yesterday, and that was her on her best behaviour."

I hugged Bella more tightly.

"If it's any consolation, I'm not going to spend any less time with you," I said.

"I know. The feeling is mutual." Bella grinned up at me and kissed my jaw, which was covered with light stubble. I hadn't shaved that morning, as I'd set my alarm later to enable myself a little more sleep. Bella hummed, and laid her head against my chest, tucking it in the crook of my neck.

"Break up the love-fest you two," Rose said, laughing a little. Bella shot her a glare, and I heard Angela snicker. With a sigh, I unwrapped Bella's arms from around me, and we all headed into the warmth of the school. Not that Forks High invested much money in heating.

"You got a cold?" Jasper asked, coming to walk on my other side.

"Yeah."

"That sucks man. Ali told me about Trakker. You holding up?"

"Yes," I said. "But I'm tempted to hunt him down myself."

Jasper chuckled, and I bid Bella goodbye as the bell rang, and we headed into calc. As per usual, I seated myself beside Jasper, and payed not attention to Tanya, who was sitting directly behind me, drilling holes in the back of my head. I heard her hiss my name, but I ignored her. I had to focus, and try to wrap my head around the shit we had to do.

When the lesson finished, I turned to her.

"Yes, Tanya?"

"I'm warning you, Edward, Victoria is out for blood. Specifically, your blood."

Great. Just what I needed. A lunatic woman who seemed to have something to do with the deaths of my damned parents trying to make my life a misery. Alice sympathised with me during Spanish, and I felt like a bit of a whiny girl as I bitched about it. Apparently, Alice was more patient than I gave her credit for.

Needless to say, the end of English couldn't have come soon enough. I was ready to be done with school once and for all, and I could barely concentrate during the morning's lessons. I suspected that this was not all to do with Victoria, but also partly to do with the other causes for restlessness in my life. Renee, Trakker... God, I just wanted all the shit to be over.

With a sigh, I began to draft the first lot of the essay we had been instructed to write for English on the first two chapters of 'Wuthering Heights'. I was told by Angela that it was a book that Bella loved, but it bored me out of my mind. As did what I was writing. I was tempted to throw my pen down in frustration and storm out of the classroom. I had a feeling that wouldn't go down well though...

Thankfully, the bell rang before my head exploded, and Angela sniggered at my relief, and laughed more loudly when I picked up my bag, still throwing stuff into it as we left the classroom. I ignored her teasing and wove my way through the crowds, trying not to snarl at people when they bashed into me, or blocked my way to the lunch hall, where I could, finally, see my girl again.

God, I sounded like a love-sick fool.

Perhaps I was one.

I sat down heavily at an empty table, a little disappointed to see that Bella wasn't actually there yet. Angela rolled her eyes dramatically at me at what se probably perceived as my 'drama'. Honestly, I didn't have very much in common with Angela, but I could easily see how her and Bella got on so well.

"When did you last see her?" Angela inquired casually, raising an eyebrow.

"About five hours ago. That's too long. Don't even bother to contradict me."

"Jeez, Edward, and here's me thinking Rose and Em are bad."

"They are. They kiss in public too much."

We both laughed, and I spotted Bella walking into the lunch hall, appearing deep in thought. I stood up, pretending not to see Angela's 'I told you so' expression, and walked towards Bella. She walked straight into me, and I reached out to steady here. It seemed to snap her out of her thoughts. She looked up at me bashfully.

"Sorry," she said. "I was thinking."

"So I noticed," I teased her. "Thinking about anything good?"

"Yeah, I was, actually. See, there's this guy... He's ridiculously good-looking, and far too sweet for his own good. He has absolutely no idea of either of these things, and he's got a couple of crazy people after him. He-"

I cut Bella off my pressing my lips to the hollow just behind her ear once.

"That guy has been driving Angela mad all lesson, due to his desperation to reach you."

Bella giggled, and I could feel her entire body vibrate against mine as it did so.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"How was your day, Edward?" Esme asked, the moment I walked through the door.

"I've had better," I said, sighing slightly.

"Uh oh. Sit down and tell me all about it," Esme insisted, pulling back one of the chairs in the beautifully decorated, modern kitchen, with it's complicated, intricate kitchen appliances which I'd never dare touch. I'd probably end up killing myself, and others, in the process.

"It's simple, really," I said, sitting down. "Victoria is out for blood."

"Victoria Hunter?"

"Yes. The one who may or may not be in cahoots with Trakker, Phil, Caius, James, whatever you want to call him."

I let out a sigh, and ran a hand through my already-tousled locks. Esme batted my hand away and sat down opposite me.

"Charlie will find whoever it is, Edward. You know that."

"I hope so," I muttered.

"Hey, you knew that it would take time, right? James Trakker will still be here in a few days time. He's not going to disappear."

"Not literally, no."

"What's that supposed to mean?" my aunt asked softly, dipping her head to look into my downcast eyes.

"He's been evading the police for years. Literally. Why would he be caught this time?"

"Have faith, Edward. Everything will work out eventually. I promise."

I sighed, and nodded. I knew that Esme was right - they had leads and witnesses and evidence this time around. But that didn't stop me worrying that justice would never be served with regards to James Trakker. I thanked Esme, and then headed upstairs to finish up the remaining work I had to do. I still failed to understand why Carlisle and Esme had such a massive house.

November rolled into December, and snow often coated the ground. Carlisle took the liberty of putting chains on my car, for which I was grateful. While I'd seen snow in Phoenix, I'd never seen the amount of snow that the town of Forks played host to constantly, during the month of December.

There were no further leads on Trakker, except that they had traced him into Canada, and found themselves at a dead end. It was beyond frustrating, and I found myself constantly in a bad mood. This mood wasn't helped by Victoria continually popping up out of nowhere, wherever I was, and running her disgusting hands over me.

Bella tended to get rid of her with a few words. I definitely needed to learn how to do that, as it took me a while to get her to pay attention to me when I told her to get lost. Victoria was far too busy trying to wheedle seemingly random information out of me. Charlie suspected that this was for Trakker, but we had no solid proof that she had anything to do with him.

Bella had gotten herself a job, which drastically cut the hours we could spend with each other. I'd often hang around at her place before she went to work at the diner, and would then head home afterwards to do any work I had. Sometimes, she'd come back to my place, but more often than not she'd have her own things to do. Thankfully, she didn't work on a Saturday or a Sunday.

On one of these such days, we were both laying back on her bed, music playing in the background. Bella was laying half on top of me, and as I fiddled with a strand of her hair. She hummed slightly as I twirled it around my finger, trying not to listen to the obvious sounds of making-out coming from across the corridor. Jasper and Alice were taking advantage of Charlie's late night shift.

"Ugh!" Bella cried, throwing a pillow at the door, seemingly just in frustration. "They are driving me insane!"

"We could turn the music up," I suggested quietly, nuzzling my nose against the side of her soft, beautiful neck.

"Then I wouldn't be able to hear you," she said.

"I can speak over music, Bella," I said, grinning slightly.

"I didn't just mean your voice. I can hear your heart and your breathing when we lay like this." Bella flushed slightly when she admitted this, and I ran a finger down her heated cheeks. She'd begun to blush more since when I'd first met her, and Angela told me that she was a little more like the girl she had been. I didn't really care, though, because Bella was perfect.

"I love it when you do that," I murmured, tracing the curve of her cheekbone.

"Do what?"

"Blush. It's beautiful."

Bella blushed deeper at my words, causing me to chuckle softly. The sounds of teenage sex coming from across the corridor were far from the front of my mind as Bella rolled into her side, turning to face me with a cheeky grin on her face. I wasn't sure I liked that grin.

She reached her hands around the back of my neck and drew me in for a long, hot kiss. My hands went around her waist, and hers delved into the hair at the nape of my neck, causing me to let out a low growl. Our lips and tongues duelled, and our teeth nibbled. Kissing Bella was sheer bliss.

Eventually, the need to breath overrode our need to kiss, and we pulled apart, both a hot, panting, gasping mess. Bella's hair was messy, and my own was always a mess. Her lips were swollen slightly, her cheeks a little flushed, and her eyes were glazed over. She looked like she'd just been kissed like hell. Oh wait. She had. I was sure I looked the same.

"I love your hair," Bella said, running her hands through it again.

"So you just love my hair?" I raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"I love your lips too. And your eyes... Is there something else I'm meant to love?"

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Oh yeah. I love you too. So fucking much."

"I love you, too. But you cannot say things like that, and do things like that," I said, referring to her hands running through my hair. "And not allow me to do this."

I leant forwards and kissed her again, this kiss more passionate than the last. God, I'd never get enough of her lips, and her kisses. If I got to kiss her all day, every day, for the rest of my life, it wouldn't be enough. Judging from the way I could feel Bella's heart pounding erratically against her ribcage, which was pressed against my own chest, she didn't feel too differently.

I had no idea how long we made out for, like the teenagers we were, but I found myself trailing soft, hot, wet kisses down Bella's neck, and nibbling her collarbone gently. Bella threw her head back and let out a throaty moan, which did funny things to my insides. Bella drew my lips back up to hers, and we kissed again, before she attacked the area behind my ear, and across my jaw.

I few minutes later, I was hovering above Bella, my weight held up on my forearms either side of her, as we kissed. Slowly, I ran one hand down her side, and then back up. Bella shuddered slightly under my touch, and I had to contain my smirk. Bella continued to kiss me, but I sensed that she was uneasy. I rolled onto my side, so that we were facing, and broke our kiss so that I could look at her.

"Are you ok?" I asked softly.

Bella blushed bright red, and nodded.

"You sure?" I persisted.

"I'm fine. I just- Oh, it doesn't matter." She sighed.

"What is it? Bella? Talk to me," I insisted, tilting her chin up with two fingers so that she was looking at me.

"I've never been in such an... intimate position... with a guy before," she got out, mumbling and blushing as she spoke.

I was slightly shocked. Hand the and Jacob...? I'd assumed that they had, as they'd been dating for nearly three years. I assumed that Bella was a pro in the department in which I was a complete stranger. Hell, I was still a virgin. Bella was too? Or did she mean something else entirely? I decided that I just had to ask.

"Didn't you and Jacob ever...?" I trailed off, not wanting to sound too - well, crude.

"No," she said, looking down. "No, we didn't. I couldn't. He wanted to... But I didn't love him. I knew I didn't."

"I wasn't pressuring you for sex, Bella," I said softly. "Hell, I'm not ready for that."

"I know you weren't," she said, still looking down at one of my hands, which she had grasped between both of hers. "Did you and Kate?"

"No," I said, tenderly stroking back a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail. I cupped her cheek, moulding my hand into the shape of her perfect skin, and caught her attention. "Bella, I'm never going to make you do something you don't want to, I swear. Just talk to me."

"I know you won't," Bella whispered, looking up at me. "And I won't make you do anything you don't want to."

I smiled, and traced a circle on her cheek with my thumb, before touching my lips to hers once, chastely. Bella responded to my kiss by pressing hers back against mine with the barest pressure. I pulled away, and smiled down at the girl I was cradling in my lap. The sounds from Alice and Jasper had ceased - not that we'd have noticed them anyway.

"I used to dream about finding my perfect guy," Bella said, looking up at me from under her long, naturally black lashes. "Somebody who would hate the kind of girl I'd become, but would fall for the old me. Even when I first met you, you effected me in ways that I didn't like. Something about you made me start to question who I was. I haven't thought about finding my dream guy since then. Because I've found him. He's fallen for who I am, though I still don't really know who Bella Swan is."

My intense gaze softened at Bella words.

"I do," I said, resting my forehead against hers. "And she's perfect."

We kissed again, gently, and then Bella stood up abruptly, and told me that she needed to get ready for work. I sighed, then nodded. I waited for her to change in the bathroom, and stayed sitting on her bed before I headed home. There was a growl of frustration from inside, and a hiss of pain.

"Bella?" I called out. "Are you ok?" I got up and knocked on the bathroom door. I waited for a moment, and rested my forehead against the door. It opened suddenly, causing me to stumbled.

"Stupid brush," Bella snarled, and stalked over to the mirror. I saw that her brush had caught awkwardly in her hair. That explained the hiss of pain.

"Hey, sit down on the bed."

Calmly, I took Bella's shoulders and lead her towards the bed. She sat down with a sigh, and I seated myself behind her. Carefully, trying not to pull too much, I untangled the brush, and proceeded to brush through her hair reverently. Her hair was beautiful, and incredibly soft and silky.

"Thank you," Bella said, kissing me and then throwing her hair up into a ponytail again. "I'd say I'll see you later, but I've got too much to do."

"That's ok," I said. "I'll see you in the morning, then."

Bella nodded, and we headed downstairs. I opened the front door for her, and then closed it behind us. We bid each other goodbye, and climbed into our respective cars. Bella's truck still made me nervous. The noises it made were absolutely deafening, and apparently it didn't go above fifty. Not without exploding.

Three hours later, I was sitting on my bed, having done my work, a book in hand. Stephen King was a master author. My phone rang suddenly, making me jump out of my skin. It had been silent in the house, as Carlisle and Esme were out, and the ringtone wasn't quite. I set down my book, and picked up my cell.

"Hello?"

"Edward?" came Alice's panicked voiced. Immediately I was on high alert.

"Alice? What's going on?"

"Is Bella with you?"

"No. The last time I saw her was when she left for work. I came straight home and haven't been out since. Why? Hasn't her shift finished now?"

"Practically, yes. Not quite."

"Then what's the matter?" I asked, and a sense of dread filled me.

"She- Oh Edward, she never turned up. Her car is there, parked, but there's no sign of her. She's gone."

I heard Alice sobbing slightly from the other end of the phone line, but I was too shocked and horrified to try to comfort her. Bella was gone. My Bella was gone. I felt the back of my own throat tighten, but I refused to cry. I had to be strong. I took a deep breath, and tried to quell the rising guilt. I could have - should have - driven her. I should have made sure she was ok. Called her...

"Who would want to kidnap Bella?" I asked, my voice rough.

"I don't know! Oh I don't know!" Alice said, crying hysterically.

"Alice, can I come over?" I asked. "Is Charlie home?"

"Yes, he's here."

"Can I come over? Talk to him?" I asked again.

"Yes, yes. Please hurry, Edward."

Not fifteen minutes later, I was seated in the Swans' living room, along with Charlie, Alice and Jasper. I resumed that the later was there as he'd been at the house when Charlie came home, but perhaps Alice had called him back over for support. Charlie looked rough, and exceedingly tired.

"Do you have any idea what happened?" I asked, directing my question at Charlie.

"Not really. There were no signs of a struggle, which is good. There was no blood either. Her truck wasn't damaged... My first thought was that Trakker had got her, and was going to contact you. Say that he'd free Bella if you came to him or something."

"What?" I asked, feeling suddenly dizzy. I didn't want Bella to be in danger because of me, but I didn't understand what Charlie was saying. Why would Trakker want me? I must have spoken the last question out loud, for Charlie smiled ruefully and let out a long, exhausted sigh, before speaking again.

"While I've no evidence, I'm going to guess that Trakker didn't kill your parents in cold blood. He killed them for a reason. That's what he's done in the past. I guessed that he wanted you out of the picture too. But anyway, that wasn't the case. Alice suggested phoning Renee, and, while I hated doing it, I did. She didn't pick up. She's left her hotel room, and has taken her car with her. I'm guessing that Renee has something to do with this."

"That's a bit better, isn't it?" Alice whispered. "I mean, she's our mother. She wouldn't hurt Bella, not really. Would she?"

Charlie sighed.

"I don't know, Alice. I really hope not. Being a parent - you just want the best for your kids. If Renee has some superior motive - if she thinks what she's doing will help Bella in the long term - she might hurt her a bit to get her to do what she wants. But you're right. I doubt Renee would seriously harm her own daughter."

"Charlie," I said, slowly. "Renee- When I first met Renee, she kept going on about how Alice and Bella spent too much time with myself and Jasper. Could that have anything to do with this? And if it does, could Alice be in danger too?" As I spoke, I saw Jasper tighten his hold on Alice, and I shot them both an apologetic glance.

"Possibly," Charlie said sadly. "Bella mentioned that. But somehow I think there's something else going on here. Call Carlisle and Esme, and let them know where you are."

I nodded to Charlie, and pulled out my cell. I hit Carlisle's number, and let him know where I was, and what was going on. His worry for Bella was incredibly touching. Honestly, while I knew that Bella knew my aunt and uncle well, I had no idea just how well she knew them. Emmett had told me once that Esme was more of a mother to Bella than Renee ever had been. I hadn't really registered it until that moment.

Carlisle and Esme came around to the Swan residence about an hour later, where we were all sitting in silence, trying to occupy ourselves, and trying not to think about Bella. Needless to say, our attempts were epic fails. Not one person in the room could think of anything except Bella for more than a minutes.

Esme suggested that we head back to their place, as it was slightly closer to the police station, and we could all sit together. Charlie agreed, and we headed back. The moment we sat down in Carlisle and Esme's living room, we sat in silence once again. Esme brought up some delicious hit chocolates, but Charlie barely touched his. I took comfort from the sweet warmth, so like that which I was missing. It was warm, sweet, and I loved it.

Bella was warm and sweet.

And I definitely loved her.

About half an hour after arriving, Charlie got a call, and he headed into the office. He promised to tell us if there were any developments. He kept true to his word, and just after eleven pm, he called us, saying that they had a lead, and were driving down to Clallam Bay.

And so began the waiting game.

Esme called us all in sick the following day, and Alice texted the rest of our group, plus Tanya, to let everybody know where we were. She didn't say that Bella had gone, although from the size of Forks I doubted that anybody in the town didn't know what had happened to my girl.

I felt numb. What if something terrible had happened to her? Though it was stupid, and illogical, I couldn't help but feel guilty. If I'd driven her to work, or called her after I'd gotten home, she wouldn't have been caught. Or, at least, we'd know she was gone quicker. I tried to put the thoughts from my head.

Hours into the morning, we go a second call from Charlie.

"We've got her," he said.

I didn't hear anything else

They had her.

But that didn't mean she was safe.


	17. Chapter 17-Casualty of War

**A/N**

**The only reason I'm updating twice in one day, is because I promised you an update on Friday, and you didn't get one. Consequently, you've got two today! Just to reiterate - I am back to posting once a week next week. Actually, I might get a few more in next week, but after that... No. I'm also doing NaNoWriMo, so... You've got a new story coming your way!**

**Enjoy!**

**Lucy xX**

Bella's POV

I shivered as I climbed out of my truck. Working in the diner brought in some good tips, when you weren't serving teenagers, but damn, was it cold. The diner itself wasn't exactly warm either. Some day, I'd suggest making a thick coat part of their uniform. Us waitresses needed one.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely noticed that there was a car that had parked right behind me, about thirty centimetres from my bumper. Fucking idiot. I'd have trouble getting out of that space. Scowling at the offending car, I turned towards the diner, and began to walk.

Then I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder. I turned around, ready to hit whoever the hell it was for startling me - or, if I didn't know them, despite their familiar touch, I could knock them out. Then I came face to face with my mother. What. The. Fuck. I raised an eyebrow at my mother.

"What are you doing here?"

"You need to come with me, Bella," she said, her voice terse.

"Why? Where do you want me to go? And what makes you think I'll skip work to come?" I snapped out.

I was beyond pissed with my mother as it was, and she wasn't helping her case.

"I just need you to come with me."

"Let me think, mother. Have you answered any of my questions? No. Therefore, I have no reason to come with you."

"Please, Bella," my mother begged me, looking, for a wild second, frightened.

Now why would she be frightened?

"What on Earth is going on?" I asked, softening my voice very slightly.

"I can't say. Just come with me."

"No."

"Fine. Go. Go to work," Renee snapped.

I glanced at her once, and then turned around to head into the diner to work. Talk about strange... And she'd just given up begging me. Maybe she realised I wouldn't say yes. But where did she want me to go? And why did she want me to go? What the hell was going on with my mother?

I had little time to ponder it, as something was pressed over my mouth, and I fell into blackness.

I awoke in a strange place, with a pounding headache. We appeared to be in some hotel, but it wasn't one I recognised. The name planted on the towels was unfamiliar, as was the view from the window that gradually came into focus as I rose from my state of unconsciousness.

What was happening?

Oh yeah.

Kidnapped by my own mother.

I looked up, and, sure enough, Renee was standing in one corner of the room, cell phone pressed furiously against her ear as she spoke. She was hissing into the phone, and I made out only a couple of words. It gave me no clue as to who she was talking to, nor to the subject of her conversation.

Until I heard the name 'Cullen'.

It seemed that my mother was talking about Edward. But who was she talking to? Trakker? I shuddered at the thought. Though I hated my mother, I couldn't believe that she would be in cahoots with a killer. Then again, she had, technically, married him, despite the that that he was calling himself Phil. Was she talking to Victoria about it? No. Talking to her 'husband' seemed far more likely.

I made myself known, and coughed a little. Renee turned around, and panic flashed through her expression when she saw that I was awake. She mumbled something incoherent into the phone, and then hung up, slamming it down onto the table furiously. She then turned to me.

"Why am I here?" I spat, and realised that my hands were tied to the bedpost.

"To protect you," my mother said softly.

"From what? Your fucking husband?"

"In essence, I suppose," she said, shrugging.

Jesus Christ she was delusional.

"He's in Canada. Charlie tracked him to Canada."

"It was a false trail. That's why it came to a dead end. He's in Forks."

"What?" I hissed.

"He's in Forks," Renee repeated calmly.

"Why?"

"Why do you think? To finish his job!"

"Which was?" I persisted.

"To end the Cullens."

While I'd almost been expecting it, I was still horrified. Who paid somebody to kill? It was disgusting, abominable, barbaric... inhumane. I couldn't believe that my mother - my own flesh and blood - was working with this thing. Trakker deserved to be hung, drawn and quartered.

Then a thought hit me.

Edward.

He was after Edward.

"What the fuck does he want with Edward?" I snarled, pulling at the restraints.

"James was paid to kill the Cullens. Edward included."

"By who?"

"His sister."

"His sister?" I laughed humourlessly. "What? Does his sister have some kind of beef with the Cullens?"

"His sister, Kate, was-"

"Oh fuck. Don't tell me. His sister is the girl that Edward dated years ago."

"Exactly."

"Oh my God. This gets more messed up every second. My mother marries the guy that killed my boyfriend's parents, and my boyfriend was dating the sister of my mother's husband. And my mother's husband wants to kill my boyfriend. Right. Am I living in a movie?"

"No, Isabella, this is all real. See, I had to take you away from Forks. You needed to be safe. Once Phil-"

"James. His names is James Trakker."

"Once Phil," Renee said,,completely ignoring me. "Gives me the ok, we can go back to Forks, and then you'll come back to Phoenix with us."

"Fuck no. I'm not going anywhere with the man that murdered somebody I love."

As soon as I said it - admitted to my delusional mother that I loved Edward Cullen - I knew that it had been a mistake. My mother would want me to fall in love with the guy she told me to love, not the guy she'd been lead to believe was evil. But, then again, why was Kate out to kill Edward anyway? Sure, they'd been dating at one point, but...?

"You LOVE him?" Renee screeched.

"Yes," I said hotly. "Get over it. You wouldn't know what love is. You don't choose who you fall in love with."

"You can't love this boy, Bella. He'll break your heart."

"I really doubt that. And if he wants to go, I'll let him."

"He broke Kate's heart, and she thought he loved her! He-"

"Cut the shit, mother. Kate broke up with Edward, from what I've heard. Not vice versa. Is that why Kate wants him dead? Because she broke up with him?"

"Edward hurt Kate."

"How?"

Renee didn't answer me. Instead, she turned her back on me and picked up her cell again, and began to text somebody furiously, punching the keys angrily. Apparently, what I'd said hadn't gone over well. It was her own fault if I refused to ever speak to her again, or if I turned her over to the police. Which I would.

Instead of worrying about Renee, I decided to try and free my hands. I twisted slightly, so that my wrists ached from the position they were in, and I began to fumbled with the carelessly-tied knot. Renee was no sailor, and I had the knot loose within a few minutes.

I laid still for a moment, before Renee turned around to face me again. Then I sprung up, and rushed to the door. Renee grabbed my wrists, and flung her entire weight against the door. I let out a frustrated snarl, and wrestled my hands free. Renee, however, refused to move away from the exit.

"Get away from the door, Mom!" I growled.

"No! You can't go back there!"

"Yes, I can."

In a fit of anger, I grabbed my mother's shoulders and threw her sideways. She seemed to be caught unaware, and I managed to fling open the door and slam it again, before running down the stairs and into the reception, full sprint. Adrenaline was pulsing through my veins, and anger was building in my mind. I wanted to slap Renee silly, and then have Trakker shot.

I raced up to the desk, where a dopey-looking lady of about twenty-five sat. She had bleach-blond hair, and long, fake nails. She looked up at me, appearing bemused, when I stood in front of her. Fuck, I needed somebody that could do things quickly. If Renee found me, she could drug me again.

Crazy bitch.

"I need to use a phone," I said.

The lady stared at me blankly.

"God damn it, I need to use your phone! Please? I need to call my dad."

"Just a moment," she said, and picked up a phone, holding it to her ear. She clicked a few buttons, and handed it to me.

"Thank you."

"Press nine, then dial your number and press the green button."

I did as she'd instructed, and held the phone to my ear. I waited, nervously, for Charlie to pick up. I assumed that by now they were looking for me, but I had no idea how long I'd been gone. For that matter, I had no idea where I was. We were in a sea-side town, it seemed, but that left a lot of options. I knew we weren't close to home, though.

"Hello?"

"Dad?"

"Bella?"

"Dad! Renee had me, she's still here. She-"

"Woah. Slow down kid," Charlie said. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm ok."

"Alright. Where are you?"

"I, uh, no idea." I turned to the receptionist. "Where are we?"

She blinked in surprise. "About a mile north-east of Clallam Bay. This is the Winter Summer Inn."

I repeated what she'd said to Charlie, though I was filled with a sense of dread. From my memory, Clallam Bay was hours away from Forks. By the time Charlie and his team reached me, Renee would have got me, and we'd be far away. Probably on a plane with fucking James Trakker. His next words, however, consoled me.

"Renee's car was spotted in Clallam Bay. We're there now. I'll be there in a few minutes honey. Can you stay somewhere away from Renee until then?"

I'd hide in the toilet if I had too.

"Yeah," I said, glancing to the ladies bathroom. "I can hide. Make some kind of noise when you get here."

Charlie chuckled from the other end of the line.

"Alright. I'll see you in a bit, ok?"

We said our goodbyes, and then hung up. I handed the phone back to the receptionist, thanked her, and turned around to head into the bathroom. I could behave like a first-grader and hide in the toilet when I felt threatened. Under the circumstances, I figured that it was called for. Unfortunately, when I turned around I found myself face-to-face with Renee, who was smiling lazily at me.

"Ready to go, Bella?" she asked.

Shit.

"No. I need to use the toilet," I said, grasping at the desperate attempt to make my escape.

"I don't think so," she snapped. "You're not getting away again."

At this, the seemingly dopey receptionist perked up a bit.

"Excuse me, ma'am, what's going on here?" she asked, addressing my mother.

"What's happening is none of your business."

"Did you hear what I said to my Dad?" I asked, turning to look at the receptionist.

She nodded.

"This is my mother, Renee."

The receptionist turned her head to Renee, and raised an eyebrow. She demanded to know what was going on, and what she was doing. Renee went bright red in the face, and began wailing and screeching and yelling and shouting. Needless to say, this distracted her sufficiently for me to make my escape.

As I ran, I saw Renee beginning to follow me. The clumsy tendency of my younger self chose to make its reappearance then, and I tripped over thin air, falling flat on my face. I grazed my palms on the floor, and then I felt somebody, presumably Renee, yank me up by the scruff of my neck, before proceeding to march me out of the door. I shot the receptionist a helpless plea for help with my eyes, but she was making a phone call. To whom, I had no idea.

Renee let go of me once we were outside, and she began to holler at me, telling me how ungrateful I was. Blah blah blah. I didn't listen to most of it, but I didn't try to run. Charlie would be there soon, and he'd be able to get me away from Renee. If I were to run, I'd risk being caught, and Charlie wouldn't know where I was.

Just as Renee began to push me into her car, I heard the unmistakable sound of Charlie's cruiser. I'd never been more grateful to hear the sound in my life. I waited for three seconds, and then leapt out of the car and ran towards the slowly moving car, away from Renee and her fucking madness.

"Dad!" I cried.

"Bella!" Charlie climbed out of the car quickly, and pulled me behind him, shoving me towards another officer. I managed to keep my emotions in check as I watched Charlie and Renee talk. My mother was then handcuffed, and put in the back of the car. Charlie contacted somebody, and then turned back to me.

Then the dam broke.

I began to sob, uncontrollably, into Charlie's chest. I seemed to startle him a bit, as he froze, his arms around me, before moving and calming me down gently. Charlie wasn't one to express his emotions, but I appreciated him being there. That was when another thought struck me.

"Edward. Where is he? Is he safe?"

"He's fine," Charlie said. "Trakker clearly expected him to be home alone. Mark caught him before any damage was done. Carlisle is pissed."

I laughed a little through my tears. Charlie helped me into his car, and we began to drive back to Forks. During the journey, I couldn't help but regret Renee's actions. While I despised her in many ways, she was my mother, and it did upset me a little that my own flesh and blood could be so heinous. But both she and Trakker were caught, so life was good.

The second Charlie slowed down outside of the hospital, I turned to him accusingly.

"Why are we here?"

"Calm down Bells. Carlisle said to bring you here when I got you. He's just gonna check you over, and make sure you're ok. We don't know what that drug did to you."

I had recounted the events of the evening during the drive back to Forks, and Charlie had been furious that Renee had drugged me and tied me up. I couldn't fault his reasoning though, so, with a huff, I nodded. Charlie parked, and I saw a familiar silver Volvo, beside which stood five people. Carlisle and Esme, my sister and Jasper, and...

"Edward!" I cried as I flung the door of Charlie's cruiser open. Edward turned to me, and his face lit up when he saw my face appear out of the shadows. I ran across the few metres separating us, and threw myself into his arms. Edward's arms wrapped themselves around me firmly, and I clutched onto him like he'd disappear if I let him go.

As Edward held me, the tears fell again, soaking the shoulder of his shirt. I buried my head in the crook of his neck, and squeezed my eyes tightly shut, trying to quell the tears. I felt Edward rub his hand up and down my back gently, and he whispered comfortingly, calming me.

"Are you ok?" he asked, his voice soft as he looked across my, inspecting me for injuries.

"Physically? I'm fine," I said, resting my head in Edward's chest as I sagged against him. I felt exhausted. Edward's arms came around my waist automatically, and he supported most of my weight. I felt slightly guilty about using him as a walking stick, but he didn't seem to mind much.

"You've grazed your hands." Edward took both of my hands in between his, and rubbed his thumbs over my bruised and grazed palms.

"I tripped."

Edward smiled slightly.

"Can I hug my sister now?" came the impatient voice of the pixie.

Edward rolled his eyes, and loosened his grip on me, transferring me to the arms of my sister. Alice, to her credit, was incredibly calm about the whole ordeal, and didn't cry or fuss or wail as I had expected her too. I was also hugged by Carlisle and Esme, who were equally contained.

It was Edward that I gravitated back towards, and I spotted Charlie watching our movements with sharp eyes. Apparently, the thought of his daughter being in love scared him a bit. Carlisle lead us all into the hospital, and, once in his office, he asked me if I wanted to do the examination alone or with company.

"I'll come with you, Bella," Charlie said immediately.

I glanced at Carlisle, and our eyes met briefly. While I loved my dad, I wanted some time alone. I just wanted to be able to vent my frustration without lashing out at those I cared for. Charlie, I suspected, would hover a bit, and I wanted space. Carlisle seemed to catch on.

"Bella?" he prompted me.

"Um, Dad, can I just do this alone?"

Edward squeezed my hand reassuringly, as though to give me support. I appreciated the gesture, and squeezed back.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Dad."

After coming out of the examination, I was fretted over my my father, and greeted by my sister and boyfriend. Carlisle had told me that I was in perfect physical health, but that the events may take their toll on me, and that I may need to talk to somebody. He gave me the number of a therapist, just in case.

We all headed outside, and we said our goodbyes. I saved Edward for last, and allowed him to wrap me in a long, tight hug, which left me feeling safer than I had for a long time. Well, fourteen hours. Edward told me that it was fourteen hours between when Renee took me, and when Charlie found me.

"Can I see you tomorrow?" Edward asked.

"Of course," I replied, my voice slightly muffled against his chest.

"I'm glad you're safe."

"I'm glad you're safe too. Creepy ex."

Edward laughed.

"Charlie assured me that Kate will be taken care of."

"What d'you think about Victoria?"

"I don't know. I think she's just a heinous bitch with the wrong boyfriend. I don't think she's a killer. Do you?"

"No," I said, slowly. "I've known Victoria for years, and she's been fighting for my affections, until now. Not my death."

"We can talk about it tomorrow. I don't want to be shot."

I assumed that Edward was referring to Charlie, who kept shooting us glances. Only Alice could hold back the Chief of Police.

"I'd rather you weren't either. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, sweet girl. I love you."

"Love you too," I whispered as Edward tenderly kissed the top of my head.

Smiling slightly, I headed back to Charlie's cruiser, where Alice was waiting. She gave me a quick hug, and then we both climbed into the back of the car. It wasn't until we were nearly home that Charlie spoke. Alice looked slightly guilty as he began, and I wondered what she'd said.

"So, Bella. What's the deal with you and Edward?"

"Uh, we're dating?"

"Is he good to you?"

"Very."

"Do you like him?"

"Yes."

"Do you love him?"

Silence.

"Bella?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Does he love you?"

"I think so."

"I know so," Alice said from beside me.

Charlie grinned at us in the mirror.

"I never expected to say this, but you two could've done worse in the boyfriend department. Jasper and Edward aren't bad. I'm not saying I approve," he added quickly.

But the damage was done. Edward had been given the all-round Swan seal of approval. Charlie like him, Alice liked him, and I freaking loved him.

Alice and I grinned at each other.

I had my friend back from my years of bitchiness, and I had my dream guy.

And I had my sister back.


	18. Chapter 18-For Real

**A/N**

**Alright, I think this is going to be the final chapter. Trust me, I'm just as sad as you are, but I'm excited too. The end of this books marks the beginning of many more, which, trust me, I'm excited to start writing. Any authors among you will know that sticking through a whole book can be a challenge, and this one was no exception. So, final chapter, and then epilogue.**

**Oh, and like Bella, I love Avril Lavigne. All will be revealed momentarily!**

**Slightly shorter chapter than usual, but enjoy!**

**Lucy xX**

Edward's POV

It was incredibly strange to think, as we walked out of school in December for the final time before the Christmas break, that in three months, my life had changed so drastically. I'd gone from loner in Phoenix, to shy guy with no parents in Forks, to slightly-more-confident Edward Cullen, with the best girlfriend in the world.

I'm not going to pretend, the few days after all the shit with Renee and Trakker were hard on all of us. Charlie had both of them arrested, and warned Bella that she might have to testify against Renee. Trakker, however, had decided to plead guilty. Kate was also arrested, and I had to be honest, I wondered whether she'd been doing drugs or something. When we'd been dating, Kate was a placid girl, not one to try and have me killed by her brother.

Victoria eased off a bit after her boyfriend was arrested, and she left Bella alone, for the most part. When she returned to school, aft era days rest, my girl stuck to herself. Id taken to driving Bella to work each evening. It was clear that Bella was emotionally tired and frustrated, but she didn't want to talk about any of it. She didn't want to talk to her friends, her father, myself, or even her sister.

I glanced over at my girl as we headed towards my car, ready to drive home before our much-needed break. It was clear to all of us that Bella wasn't sleeping; she had dark, grey bags under her eyes, and her face was pale and haggard. I didn't broach the subject with her though, as the last time I had she'd refused to speak to me for a day. I'd then had a tearful phone call, apologising. I didn't need her apologies, but I did wish she'd talk to somebody about it. Anybody.

"You ok?" I asked softly as we sat in the warm safety of my car.

"No. I'm not fucking ok," Bella snapped.

Well ok then...

I said nothing in reply, and instead started the car and hit the gas pedal, driving out behind Emmett's Jeep. He flashed me a grin, which I returned half-heartedly. Emmett and Rose had been told all about what had happened, as had Angela and Ben, though by Alice, not by Bella. Again, Bella ad refused to talk about it. It was like Bella wanted to pretend it hadn't happened at all.

"I'm sorry," Bella whispered. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's ok." I reached for her hand across the console.

"No, it's not," Bella sighed.

"Bella - please don't get upset with me for saying this - but do you think that, perhaps, you should talk about what happened? Just hear me out," I said, holding up a hand when she began to protest. "I can see that you're not sleeping, and you're constantly angry and on edge. I understand that you want to put it all behind you, but the easiest way to do that might be to talk about it. Also, while I understand completely that what happened to you was horrible, I think your imagination is blowing it way out of proportion."

Bella flinched visibly at my final sentence, and I felt guilty for saying it. But it was true. It had bee two weeks since Bella had been taken away by her delusional mother so that she wasn't a casualty of war, and her general mood had gradually deteriorated. Alice was also worried about her sister, and she and I had talked about it more than once.

"I don't want to end up hurting somebody I care about," Bella murmured at last. "If I talk to you about it, I'll end up shouting and screaming and calling you horrible things. I don't want to do that."

"I'd understand, sweet girl. But that's why we have therapists. You can scream and shout without needing to worry about upsetting somebody."

"I'll think about it."

"That's all I'm asking. It might make you feel better."

And Bella did end up talking to somebody. Several somebodies, in fact. With the help of Carlisle one day, she booked an appointment with a lady that my uncle had known since medical school, and he assured Bella that she was very good at her job. After her first appointment, Bella surprised me with a visit.

As I opened the door to see her, I noticed immediately that she looked better. She still looked like she'd hardly slept in many days, but she looked happier and lighter, and her eyes had regained some of their shine. I gestured her inside, and she smiled at me - the first proper smile I'd seen on her face since before Renee had taken her.

I took Bella up to my bedroom, and made sure to leave the door slightly open. I didn't particularly want Esme of Carlisle to get annoyed because the door wasn't open. I seated Bella I between my legs, and wrapped my arms gently around her waist. Then, to my surprise, she began to tell me all about her session. Not just a brief recount, but she told me everything she'd told the therapist. She told me everything she'd felt when Renee had taken her, and everything she'd felt since.

I felt that this deserved a celebration.

I told Esme and Carlisle that we were going out, and Bella texted Charlie to let him know. While I loved going out to eat with Bella, and going to the movies and kissing in the back of the theatre was great fun, I had an idea for something else. I told Bella to get into the car, and I drove towards Seattle. While it was a while away, I hoped Bella would appreciate where I was taking her.

Just under three hours later - after a lot of speeding - we climbed out of the car outside a boat hire place. Bella turned to me, her expression pleased but confused. I motioned to the little hut where we could hire a boat, and she began to walk towards it, grabbing my hand as she did so.

After not much trouble, we hired out a rowing boat with room for two. I climbed in first, and held out my hands to Bella. She took them and allowed me to lift her in, despite the fact that she was far more coordinated than I was. I kissed her cheekily as I put her down, and she flashed me a grin.

I began to row out along the water, and Bella watched me with a strange, though not bad, expression on her face. We chatted quietly about anything and everything, and I couldn't resist leaning over to place a kiss on her perfect kiss. This, of course, lead to my first ever make-out session in a boat.

"I love you," Bella murmured.

"I love you too. You have no idea how much."

"I think I do."

I smirked.

"Really?"

"Really truly. I could write a book about all the things I love about you."

"I've no doubt you could. Alice says English is what you want to major in."

"It is," Bella said, resting her head on my shoulder. "I love writing. Anything and everything. What about you? What do you want to do?"

"I'm not really sure," I said. "Nothing to do with math."

Bella giggled. "Don't want to follow in Carlisle's footsteps?"

"No," I said. "I can't deal with people. Ugh."

"What did your dad do?"

"He was an accountant. No way am I doing that. I've always liked biology, but I don't know what I'd want to do with a degree in it."

"Do you like kids?"

"What?"

"Do you like kids?"

"Yeah. I guess so," I said.

"You could become a teacher. Teach biology."

"I could. I'd have to get a teaching degree too."

Suddenly, Bella let out a loud laugh.

"What're you laughing at?"

"I was imagining you as a teacher. Nobody would get a girlfriend with Mr. Cullen around."

"Meaning?"

"You know I mentioned that book I could write about the things I love about you?" Bella asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Mm."

"Chapter one would be all about how you're far too sexy for your own good, and have no idea about it. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"I'm yours until you order me away," I said immediately.

"I know. And I won't order you away. Chapter two would be all the fucking sweet things you say, and how damn cute you are," Bella purred, kissing me after speaking. I grinned at her, and kissed her again, our lips and tongues duelling together, and fighting for dominance. I loved Bella's kisses, and I'd never get enough of them.

"Chapter three?"

"Your kisses. When I was dating Jacob, I used to read romance books about 'soul-searing kisses', and I used to scoff. Kisses couldn't ever feel like that. I certainly never felt that with Jacob. But fuck, your kisses are a lot better than soul-searing. I'm addicted to them."

As though to prove her point, Bella attached her lips to mine, attacking them with a feral passion. She let out a guttural moan, which caused my insides to tingle. I slowed our movements down a little, and nipped her swollen lower lip as I pulled away. Both of us were breathing heavily, and I couldn't resist smirking at her.

"Then I'd talk about how hot you are when you're cocky," she said. "But then I'd talk about the real reason I love you. How you always know what to say to make me feel better, and seem to know when I need space or silence. How I feel better just hearing your voice, and you make me feel safe by wrapping your arms around me. I love you for being you."

"I love you for similar reasons," I murmured. "But I don't have your way with words. I couldn't write a book on it, because there are no words to describe it."

"That's why the word 'love' was invented."

I grinned at Bella. Needless to say, I'd stopped rowing many minutes before, and we'd drifted slightly. Land was to our left, where there was a pretty-looking restaurant, which was playing music. Shifting Bella a little so that I could access the oars, I began to row closer towards the restaurant.

I stopped about five metres from the shoreline, and we both took in the sight of the sun just setting over the water, creating an orange glow over the land and the water. As the final rays of sun disappeared, a definite chill came into the air, and Bella shivered slightly. I shrugged off my jacket, and wrapped it around her shoulders, ignoring her protests.

"You'll be cold without your jacket, Edward," she said, trying to take it off, despite my arms trapping her against me and restricting her movement.

"You are cold without my jacket," I said, emphasising the present tense. "It would be ungentlemanly of me to let you freeze while I'm warm. Besides, we can go into that restaurant if you want to."

"Did you plan on turning up here?"

"Nope, but it looks nice."

And it did. The lanterns were casting a homely glow over the place, which looked more like a large cottage than a restaurant. Vines trailed up the walls, and the gardens were neatly tended. Tall red roses and pretty blue delphiniums took up the majority of the flowers beds, but soft yellow carnations and bright blue forget-me-nots were also dotted around. I recognised the sing playing, and I pulled Bella closer to me, before bending my head so that my lips were at her ear and singing along softly.

"If I show you

Get to know you

If I hold you just for today

I'm not gonna wanna let go

I'm not gonna wanna go home

Tell me you feel the same.

"'Cause I'm for real

Are you for real?

I can't help myself

It's the way I feel

When you look me in the eyes like you did last night

I can't stand to hear you say goodbye

But it feels so right

'Cause it feels so right just to have you standing by my side

So don't let me go

Cause you have my soul.

"And I just wanted you to know

I don't wanna look back

Cause I know that we have

Something the past could never change.

And I'm stuck in the moment

And my heart is open

Tell me that you feel the same.

"'Cause I'm for real

Are you for real?

I can't help myself

It's the way I feel

When you look me in the eyes like you did last night

I can't stand to hear you say goodbye

Well it feels so right

'Cause it feels so right just to have you standing by my side

So don't let me go.

"Cause you have my soul

And I just wanted you to know.

"Hold me down

Hold me now

I'm safe

I'm sound

When you're around

Hold me down

Hold me now

I'm safe

I'm sound

When you're around.

"'Cause I'm for real

Are you for real?

I can't help myself

It's the way I feel

When you look me in the eyes like you did last night

I can't stand to hear you say goodbye

Well it feels so right

'Cause it feels so right just to have you standing by my side

So don't let me go

Cause you have my soul

And I just wanted you to know.

"'Cause I'm for real

Are you for real?

I can't help myself

It's the way I feel

When you look me in the eyes like you did last night

I can't stand to hear you say goodbye

Well it feels so right

'Cause it feels so right just to have you standing by my side

So don't let me go

Cause you have my soul

And I just wanted you to know."

To be honest, singing a song in the ear of my girlfriend seemed a little cheesy, but I didn't care. Bella's eyes glossed over as the song finished, and she kissed me sweetly and slowly. My hands ran gently up and down her back, and hers went to their customary place in my hair. It was sheer bliss.

"You know Avril Lavigne?" she asked when we parted.

I smiled sheepishly.

"Is that a bad thing? I only found her music after we started dating."

Bella shook her head at me. "I adore her music. And you singing is hot."

We both grinned at each other.

Sure, life would never be perfect, but mine was pretty damn close.


	19. Epilogue

**A/N**

**Alright folks. This is it. The epilogue. I know that you're all waiting for a perfect, happy ending, but we all know that I can't avoid drama. I believe in happily ever after, but I'm afraid to say that this chapter comes with an angst warning. This chapter switches between Edward's and Bella's POV, so I hope it ok! I'm afraid there won't be a sequel, and I hope you enjoy hearing from Edward and Bella once more.**

**Enjoy it for the final time, and a last comment would be great!**

**Lucy xX**

_I'm not supposed to love you, I'm not supposed to care, I'm not supposed to live my life wishing you were there. I'm not supposed to wonder where you are or what you're doing, but I can't help it, because I'm in love with you._

_~ Unknown Author_

Bella's POV

Life is never easy.

I'd always known that, and I always would. Nothing in the world is simple, and nothing is unconditional. Not really. Except love. Love is pure and unconditional. To love and to be loved is the most special thing that life can give you. Loving makes you somebody you weren't before.

My senior year of high school was far less dramatic than my junior year. I went to prom both years with my wonderful guy, and life seemed like it was perfect. I was living in a state of ignorance. I should have known that there was no way my life could stay so wonderful. It never had before.

When Edward and I went off to university, we both headed to U-Dub. The folks were all happy, as we'd be close to home. Angela and Ben also came to U-Dub, though both decided to major in American history. Edward followed through with what he'd said, and went for his biology degree, and a teaching degree. I, of course, decided to major in English.

Jasper, to Alice's shock and horror, decided to join the army. We all worried for him during his years of service, and it killed me when I wast able to comfort my sister, for she'd travelled hundreds of miles south to do something in fashion design. It broke my heart to hear her helpless phone calls, and her tears, and to know that I couldn't comfort her.

Both Rose and Emmett had gone to Dartmouth the previous year, and were continuing their degrees there. Tanya had gone all the way to Alaska to do something, and Jessica had travelled to Alabama to get a degree in psychology. Jacob had opted out of university, ignoring Billy's protests. Despite Angela's reassurances, it felt to me like all of my friends were breaking away. We Skyped and called each other, but it wasn't the same. We were gradually growing apart during our freshman year.

Sometime during my sophomore year of university, I fell completely out of contact with Tanya and Jessica. Equally, I hadn't spoken to my mother, whom had been sentenced, since my junior year of high school. My life was not going in the perfect direction I wanted it to. While I did enjoy university, and I did gain new friends, I was speaking to my old ones less and less.

Then disaster struck back in Forks.

In a horrific accident involving a drunk driver and a deer running across the road late at night, Charlie was severely injured, and rushed to Forks hospital. It was Esme that called me to tell me the bad news. I was alone in the house, going about my daily business and catching up on some work when my phone rang. I answered it immediately, and I felt myself pale when Esme said everything.

Edward came home about an hour later, looking tired as hell, and found me crying - sobbing uncontrollably - on our bed. Of course, he wrapped me in a consoling embrace, and asked me what was going on. When I told him, he immediately said that we could head back to Forks at the weekend and visit Charlie. That made me feel a little better. The sweet, gentle love-making that night made me feel a lot better though.

We did drive back to Forks on Friday night, and Carlisle and Esme welcomed us into their home, offering us their condolences. On Saturday morning, we walked into the hospital, my hand clutching onto Edward's for dear life. I broke down again when I saw my father, unconscious and hooked up to one of those God-awful breathing machines. Carlisle told us that Charlie had some injuries to his spine, which only made me cry harder.

We had to return to university on Sunday evening, but the upheaval of the weekend had taken its toll on my health. I spent the following week sick and stressed, and Edward became increasingly worried. I managed to heave my ass out of bed on Monday morning, and headed to class despite Edward's protests.

Charlie gradually returned to full health, although it took several months, and he walked, for that day forth, with a bit of a limp. It saddened me to see Charlie walking like that, but I never mentioned my feelings to him. Edward, of course, heard all about them while I cried. My emotions were all over the place since Charlie's accident, and I ended doing a single session with the therapist I'd seen as a seventeen-year-old one weekend.

Over the summer of our sophomore year, our group of friends finally came together again. Jasper returned from his two years service in the army in perfect physical health, but he spent five months with a therapist afterwards. It had taken its toll on his emotional health.

Alice, of course, was ecstatic. She'd heard about Charlie's accident, and had flown over to see him during her next holiday. She was glad to see him in good spirits. Rose and Emmett announced their engagement, as well as having a baby on the way. I had no idea how they'd handle their senior year of university and a baby, but, of course, they did.

Tanya and Jessica didn't attend our get-together, as none of us had any contact details for them anymore. I'd last spoken with Tanya half a year beforehand, and she'd been happy. Charlie told us that Jacob had moved away with his girlfriend, Leah. I was happy for him.

Our junior year presented us with little excitement, save for the weddings of both Rose and Emmett, and Alice and Jasper. Our senior year caused several arguments between Edward and I, over the most trivial things. We got over them, but we spent our exam week keeping away from each other in the apartment we shared, so as not to end up hurting each other. Jasper still claimed that watching the two of us was sickening, and it brought a proud smile to Edward's lips every time he did so.

During the week of finals, Angela and Ben broke up. I'd expected Angela to be sad, but she wasn't, really. She told me that they'd been drifting apart for months, and that they'd split on good terms. Everything was ok with them, if not a little awkward, until Angela realised that she was pregnant with Ben's child.

This lead to lots of crying, and many attempts to talk to Ben about it, all of which fell flat. Eventually, Edward took matters into his own hands, and secretly arranged for Angela and Ben to meet each other. Angela came back to my apartment after speaking to Ben, which was where she'd been staying, and told us that Ben hadn't wanted to rekindle their relationship, but had said he'd help with the kid.

Angela and Ben's struggle was out right out of my mind one beautiful day in early August. Edward and I were both, for the moment, keeping our jobs at a local diner from when we'd been students, and had searching for jobs. Neither of us had been successful, but we were hopeful. Edward had decided to teach biology, preferably in high school, and I was looking to become an editor.

Edward had taken me to a beautiful restaurant that overlooked the river, and we were sitting on the grassy bank, watching the sunset in silence. Edward's arm was wrapped around my waist, and both of my hands were clasping his other one, with my head resting on his shoulder.

Suddenly, without warning, Edward stood us both up gently, and stroked a strand of my hair back behind my ear which had escaped the bun I'd put it in. Then he bent down on one knee, causing me to gasp and cover my mouth. My eyes filled with tears as he brought out a ring box.

"Isabella Swan," he began. "I love you. I've loved you for years, and I promise to love you forever more. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes a hundred times over."

I threw myself into Edward's arms, and we shared a kiss filled with pure love. After pulling away from me, Edward took my left hand in his and slipped the beautiful, silver ring onto my fourth finger. We both looked down at it for a moment, before looking up at each other. It was the most perfect night in existence.

Unfortunately, reality snapped back at us not long afterwards. Our job search wasn't going well, and we were both struggling to make ends meet. Eventually, I suggested that we widen our search, and look for jobs in Seattle that would require us to move. I found a job where I could begin to edit, and Edward got himself an interview at a high school. After he was accepted in, we got a small loan and bought ourselves a pretty house not far from where we worked.

Alice and Jasper had decided to return to Jasper's hometown in Texas, and Rose and Emmett had bought a cottage in Port Angeles where they could raise their son. Angela lived close to us in an apartment, and was working at the same school as Edward. She was now heavily pregnant, and Ben was not cooperating with talking about the kid's future.

When Angela gave birth, it was I that stood by her, not Ben. Ben had said he'd come, but he didn't answer Edward's calls, telling him that Angela had gone into labour. Angela gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl, who looked like a perfect image of Angela. Ben still didn't answer our calls, and Angela eventually gave up hope. She decided to raise Marie - the name chosen after my own middle name - by herself. She said that if she found a guy to raise her with, then fine, but that she was happy with just the two of them. I didn't think she was lying, either.

Then, exactly four months after Edward and I became engaged, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was terrified when I first noticed the strange appearance of my breast, and I immediately booked an appointment with a doctor. Technically, I'd never changed my official doctor from Carlisle to somebody closer to where I lived, but I couldn't bring myself to go to Carlisle anyway, even if I'd still lived in Forks.

When I was diagnosed, I was told that the cancer had been caught early on. The doctor - a kindly lady of about forty, who told me that she too had had breast cancer as a young woman - spoke to me about the different treatments available, and the possible side effects of them all. She told me that due to my cancer being in its early stages, that surgery to remove just the cancer and a small amount of the tissue around it was my best option, followed by a course of chemotherapy to prevent it from returning. I agreed on the course of treatment, and returned home in a mess.

For five days, I didn't tell anybody. Edward had, of course, noticed that something was wrong, but whenever he tried to press the issue, I'd shut him out. I was terrified of what would happen to me, and I was terrified of how Edward would react if I told him. Sure, he wanted to marry me, but that was before I was diagnosed with a condition that could make me lose my hair, become infertile, become a continually sick woman, and, in reality, kill me.

So for a full working week, I suffered in silence. I hardly spoke to my friends, and the intimacy Edward and I had been sharing over the last few years was gone. I didn't go out with anybody, including my fiancé, and I began to lose weight. Edward became increasingly worried, and I hated the hurt and pain I saw in his eyes every time I turned away from him.

Eventually, though, I did break down and tell him everything.

Five days after I'd been diagnosed, I was curled up on the sofa, watching a Downtown Abbey rerun, when Edward sat down beside me. Usually, when we were sitting together in the privacy of our home, we'd gravitate towards each other and snuggle into each others' arms, but Edward left about a foot of space between us. The distance hurt, as did the silence, even though I knew that it was due to me that it had been created. Even in bed at night I'd lay away from Edward, rather than trying to get as close to him as was humanly possible.

Edward glanced across at me, and then pinched the bridge of his nose and ran a hand through his hair. Despite the situation, my fingers still itched to brush his hands away and to run my hands through his hair for him. I felt tears well up in my eyes, and, angrily, I rubbed a hand across my face in an attempt to hide them. Of course, Edward noticed. However upset he was with me, he seemed unable to let me cry.

"Bella?" he asked, his voice surprisingly soft.

Gingerly, as though I might electrocute him, Edward reached out a hand and touched my shoulder lightly. For once, I didn't move away from his touch. I realised that I needed to tell Edward at some point. Not only would we be married in the summer, but I couldn't hide everything from him, and I'd fall apart if I had to go through it all alone.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Oh Bella," Edward sighed.

Gently, his arm came around me, and he pulled me into his lap. Then I cried. I let out all of the pent-up emotions as Edward cradled me, rubbing my back and kissing the top of my head intermittently. As I cried, I thought about how I could tell Edward that I had such a large problem, and tried not to think about how he'd react. At last, my tears ceased.

"Please, Bella," Edward begged me, looking right into my eyes. "Tell me what's going on. Talk to me."

I took a deep breath, and grabbed one of Edward's hands in both of mine. I focused on his fingers as I spoke.

"I'm ill," I began, and then stalled. What else could I say?

"What kind of ill?" Edward probed gently. "Whatever it is, we can get through it. I promise you."

"I've got breast cancer," I whispered, my heart thudding as I spoke. What would Edward say? Would he be furious? Repulsed? I should have known my man better. For a moment, he was silent, then he spoke slowly.

"Have you been to see a doctor?"

"That's why I wasn't at work on Monday," I said, not meeting his eyes.

"Look at me, please," Edward said softly. I obeyed. "We can get through this. Lots of people survive breast cancer. I'll be with you every step of the way."

Tears trickled down my cheeks again, and Edward wiped them away with his thumb.

"I should have told you sooner," I said dejectedly.

"Hey, I understand. You were scared. I would be too. But you've told me now, and it'll be ok."

"What if it's not? I'm having chemotherapy. I could - I probably will - loose my hair and become sick. I could become infertile."

"Very few people become infertile," Edward said. "And loosing your hair and being sick is a temporary thing, isn't it?"

"Yes. But if I loose all my hair it'll take months to grow back. Years maybe. I'll be bald. I don't know how to deal with that."

Edward tightened his hold on me, and I buried my face in his shoulder.

"I'm not going to pretend that this will be easy, sweet girl, but we can do it. I'll help you deal with it."

"I didn't realise how much hair mattered to me until I'm faced with loosing it," I murmured. "What if I'm bald for the wedding?"

"If it means that much to you, we can postpone the wedding. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm sure Alice will have great fun making it even more 'perfect'."

I smiled slightly.

"I don't know how to tell everybody else," I whispered.

"If you really don't want to, we don't have to."

"I think I need to. Particularly Alice and Charlie."

"Then when we next get together, I'll help you tell them. Think of me as your pillar for the next few months. Anything you can't do, I'll help you with."

I laughed a bit, and knew that I'd been right to tell Edward. I'd get through it with him by my side, and I wouldn't have to hide anything. I'd have somebody to support me as I went through the worst time of my life. I'd survive it, and I'd have somebody to fall back on when I needed to.

And I did. The full course of treatment took just under eight months, and I was told that it was fully effective. The surgery was less stressful than I'd imagined it to be, and it left my breast practically fully intact. The chemotherapy was the hardest bit of the whole ordeal, but, luckily, I didn't loose all of my hair. It thinned out considerably, but I never had to deal with wearing a wig or anything. My friends and family were all supportive.

Edward and I rescheduled the wedding to mid October, by which time my hair was back to what it had been before treatment, and I was feeling much better. I had no long-term side effects, for which I was grateful. The whole ordeal we t more smoothly than I could have hoped for.

I barely registered what was happening when Edward and I got married. Later, I could recall every gust of wind in the vast expanse of land in front of the Cullen house, where our wedding took place, but at the time I had eyes only for Edward, who looked simply mouth-watering in black formal wear. At the end of the wedding, Edward was officially mine, with the ring to prove it, and I was his, with my own ring. I was Mrs. Cullen, and I had Edward Cullen as my husband.

I couldn't have been happier.

Edward's POV

Three years later, aged 26...

"Jesus Christ Edward!" my beautiful wife growled as she lay on a hospital bed, giving birth to our first baby. The family was in the waiting room, and Esme had warned me, when I came in, freaked out beyond belief, that first babies took their time. So far, Bella had been at it for sixteen hours, and looked exhausted.

The baby had come as a bit of a surprise. Bella had been a bit upset when she found out, and seemed worried that I'd be angry. I wasn't. Sure, we hadn't planned the baby, but we both had steady incomes and a strong marriage. We were ready for adding a kid into our lives, and I couldn't wait to meet the little human we'd made. Our little kid was active during the pregnancy, and Bella had suffered at bit, particularly during the night. She found that me rubbing her stomach eased the kicking somewhat.

I was snapped back to the present when Bella squeezed my hand incredibly hard. I was pretty sure I'd be walking out with a broken hand, but I wasn't complaining. I couldn't imagine being in the amount of pain Bella was in. She cried out, and was told to start pushing by the midwife.

"Never again, Edward. You hear me? Never again!" she snarled as she pushed in time to the midwife's counting.

"I hear you, love." I knew that Bella didn't mean it though. She'd loved having Alice to grow up with, and she'd said to me that she wanted our kid to have a sibling or two to grow up with. Little Cullen had been shy for a while, but we eventually found out that we had a little girl on the way.

After sixteen hours and forty minutes, Hailey Cullen made her way into the world. She was taken away and cleaned up, then wrapped in white cloth and handed to Bella, who was laying back, panting a bit. A beautiful expression came over her face when she saw our baby girl for the first time, and both of us stared at her in awe.

"Look at what we did, Edward," Bella whispered, holding Hailey gently.

"We did amazingly, Bella," I said, leaning over Hailey and kissing my wife's lips once.

I perched myself carefully on the edge of the bed, and ran a finger down Hailey's cheek. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing slightly more quickly than an adult would. I noticed that she had Bella's gorgeous mahogany hair, judging from the soft, dark tufts on the top of her head. She opened her eyes suddenly, to reveal a pair of blue-green eyes.

"She's going to have your eyes," Bella murmured, cradling our daughter close.

"She's got your hair," I said.

Suddenly, Hailey let out a wail. Bella and I looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Bella rocked Hailey rhythmically, and as suddenly as she started, our daughter quieted, and rested her head against Bella's chest. I smiled down at the picture of my two girls, and tried to wrap my head around the fact that not only did I have a wonderful wife, but a daughter that would be calling me 'Daddy'.

"Shall we let the others in?" I asked quietly.

Bella sighed.

"I suppose we should. Angela and Marie are here now, right?"

"They got here about an hour ago. The folks are here, and Jack is having great fun playing with Marie."

Bella chuckled softly, clearly trying not to disturb Hailey. Jack was the son of Rose and Emmett, and was just coming up to four years old. He was a force to be reckoned with, and was the complete opposite of Marie, who was most definitely as calm and placid as Angela. Apparently, she hadn't cried very much. I hoped Hailey would be the same, though I doubted we'd be that lucky.

I left the hospital room and headed out to the waiting area, where the family and friends sat. I wished that my own parents were there to see that moment, but, in the years since I'd first moved to Washington, I'd come to think of Carlisle and Esme as my parents. They loved me like their own, and took an interest in my life.

"Bella and Hailey are ready to see you," I said, grinning like an idiot. "But please, don't be too loud or enthusiastic." As I spoke, I looked to Emmett and Alice, who were known for being loud and enthusiastic. I knew that Bella wouldn't appreciate too much noise after having had such a hard few hours.

They all headed in, and took their turns oohing and ahhing at our little baby. Esme, I noticed, was trying to restrain herself from snatching Hailey out of Bella's arms immediately. As though she knew it was inevitable, Bella sighed and transferred our girl carefully into Esme's arms.

Eight years later...

As I opened the door to our house, I was met by two loud cries of 'Daddy's home!'. I laughed a little our two youngest threw themselves at my legs and began to babble at a hundred miles an hour. Gently, disentangled my sons from my legs so that I could walk over the threshold and close the front door behind me.

Bella was siting at the kitchen table with Hailey, and smiled as I walked through the door. I kissed her cheek in greeting, and then kissed Hailey, before setting my bag down. Will and Max, six and four years of age, hoisted themselves onto chairs and peered over Hailey's shoulder to have a look at what she was reading. Hailey had it hard, being the only girl and the oldest, but she managed easily. She was a tough kid, and would rather curl up with a book than play with her barbies - something I was forever grateful for. Jasper constantly complained that his two daughters were too like their mother, and were interested in fashion and hair only. I felt for him, really.

Suddenly, Will snatched the book from Hailey's hands, causing my daughter to let out an exasperated sigh. She loved her brothers, and she tolerated them better than I'd have expected, but they enjoyed teasing her and annoying her to try and get her into trouble. Will was our trouble-maker, and he was horrified at Hailey's lack of enthusiasm for breaking the rules.

Rather than cry or shout as I had once expected an eight-year-old to, Hailey merely looked at me imploringly, begging me to get her book back silently. I smiled to myself, and walked over to where Will and Max were laughing at Hailey's book. Of course, they couldn't read much of it, but they seemed to find it amusing.

"Hey you two."

"Hey Dad," Will said casually.

"You reading Hailey's book?"

"Yup."

"What's it about?"

"Look, there's a girl who wants to be a boy. She's got short hair." Max showed me the book and pointed to a description of George, from the Famous Five. As a kid I'd loved the series, and I was thrilled that Hailey had taken to them too. Bella had introduced her, recently, to the world of Harry Potter, and she enjoyed that nearly as much.

I took the book and pretended to look, just to please my sons. Will clearly realised that I was going to give it back to Hailey, as I heard him calling his brother an idiot. I had to smile at that. Calmly, I walked back over to Bella and Hailey, and delivered the book to its reader. Hailey thanked me, shooting her brothers a pointed look.

Max and Will headed out of the kitchen, arguing, and I heard them clatter upstairs. The two were as thick as thieves. Hailey told us that she was going to read in her room, to which we nodded, and smiled. I sat down beside Bella and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"How was work?" she asked.

I scowled.

"Hormonal teenagers. Oh, but you'll never guess who applied for a job teaching history today."

"Who?"

"Victoria. She didn't look good. Bad dress sense, horrible haircut... Ugh. She hasn't aged well."

Bella laughed.

"Alice and Jasper are coming over on Saturday. That ok?"

"Of course it is. Hailey will have somebody to play with, at least."

"I don't think she finds them that interesting. They're obsessed with clothes and playing dress-up."

"When was the last time she saw Marie?"

"Last week. They get on well, don't they?"

"They certainly seem to," I said. "Perhaps we could invite Angela and Marie over too. I'm sure Hailey would appreciate it. And I might need somebody to save me from your sister."

"Isn't that what Jasper's for?"

"Jasper can save me, and Angela'll save you," I corrected myself.

"At this rate, we may as well invite Rose and Emmett over and be done with it," Bella said, grinning.

"Why not?" I asked, pulling her into my lap and kissing her delectable lips.

"Consider it done," she whispered. "Before you distract me too much, Angela has a new boyfriend."

"Yeah?" I pulled away slightly.

"Uh huh. Some guy called Eric Yorkie."

"Have you met him?"

"Not yet. Angela likes him though, and says he's besotted with Marie."

We both laughed, before kissing again. Years after we'd first begun dating, the sensations I felt when kissing Bella hadn't diminished. I doubted that they ever would, for which I was grateful. I loved her kisses. Our lips and tongues duelled, and our teeth nipped. Finally, we pulled away.

"We should probably check that Will and Max aren't plotting to destroy Hailey's books," I said, slightly out of breath.

"Mm. Or we could just stay here." Bella leant her head against my chest and sighed in contentment.

"Come on," I said with a chuckle, and made to pull Bella up off of my lap.

"I love you," Bella said.

"I love you too," I replied, pecking her lips.

There was a loud bang from upstairs, followed by a squeal and a shout. Bella and I exchanged looks, and then made our way upstairs to see what havoc our children were wrecking. Sure, life would never be perfect, and there would always be ups and downs, but mine was pretty damn good. I had a great set of friends, a steady job, and three kids I loved with all my heart.

But most of all, I had the love of my life.


End file.
